


Icebound (A Frozen Jelsa Fanfic)

by Jellybeanz



Category: Frozen (2013), Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Crossover, Crossover Pairings, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Slow Romance, out of character (jack's background), winter prince
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-19
Updated: 2019-07-12
Packaged: 2019-10-12 09:29:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 22,641
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17464913
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jellybeanz/pseuds/Jellybeanz
Summary: I decided to upload this story when I heard about the announcement of frozen 2! Here's my take on a sequel:Over a year has passed since Elsa revealed her hidden powers, but Arendelle was not the only kingdom to get swept up in her icy storm. While Arendelle was on the verge of facing an arctic ruin, other countries had taken notice of the kingdom’s weak state. Elsa wishes to spend this summer helping her sister Anna plan a royal wedding, but The Kingdom of the North has different plans.Alone, Arendelle will fall, the peaceful kingdom hasn’t been to war since before she was born. Elsa decides it’s time to unlock her father’s old study, seeking his works for advice. What she finds is more than an answer, a dusty journal stuffed with letters and a few dated passages near Elsa’s childhood. The pages describe a journey taken by her parents overseas, to a kingdom far into the Northeast, with a story sounding somewhat like a fairy tale. A young prince, cursed by a witch with the powers of ice and snow, had saved his family and kingdom from a war. However, he left his home years ago to travel with his kingdom's army, protecting his country and keeping peace.Now, all Elsa has to do, is find him.





	1. Chapter 1

Elsa reclines on the cushioned sofa, allowing the summer sun to wash over her through the window. A sigh escapes her lips and she leans her head back on the cushion.

Today was beautiful. Endless hours of tedious work had left her feeling exhausted. This break was well deserved.

Elsa opens her eyes lazily and surveys the room around her. The boutique was small and cozy. When her and Anna first arrived, the brown haired woman greeted them at the desk and ushered Anna into a curtained dressing room off to the side. Elsa took a seat on the sofa and waited. It was a nice shop. Arendelle didn't have many options when it came to local dress makers, but Anna had refused to get a wedding dress anywhere else. The interior was decorated in pale colors, the walls being mostly pink with some sort of pattern design. A large three way mirror stood tall at the end of the room, a few racks of sample dresses by it's side. The window behind the sofa displayed various accessories such as hats and shoes. Elsa taps her fingers leisurely against the arm rest.

Anna was still not out of the dressing room. Elsa smiles to herself remembering the event that led to this day.

* * *

 

<flashback>

Elsa sat by the palace gardens, enjoying the shade under the parasol placed next to her chair and tea table. Things were different now that she had returned to Arendelle. People treated her respectfully as their Queen, and she got to spend time with her sister. Although, as much as she would love to have her sister's company all day, there were times when she needed to be alone and relax.

Elsa broke her gaze from the heavenly scenery and reached out to pick a tea cup off the table. She closed her eyes and inhaled the herbal aroma. It was a nice day to enjoy herself in the castle gardens. The noon sun was high in the sky and the warm air mixed gently with the sweet smell of flowers around her. Elsa sat sipping her tea quietly.

A loud crash by the back castle door caught her attention. Elsa spun around in her chair. Two palace guards shared a confused glance as Kristoff bent down to pick up a fallen spear. He frantically picks it up and looks between the two guards. He makes a noise and pushes it into the arms of the one he had knocked it from.

"Sorry about that, guys." He backs away, walking towards Elsa's direction. The guards share another uncertain glance, one shrugs.

"Elsa!" Kristoff waves awkwardly. Elsa gives a small wave back. Well that was quite an entrance.

"Ah, I mean, your majesty, Queen Elsa." Kristoff pauses in his tracks and gives a deep bow.

Elsa places her tea cup on her lap. "Kristoff? What are you doing here?" Elsa eyes him carefully. She slightly raises an eyebrow at his informal greeting.

"Well uh, your majesty, uh, may I?" He stumbles over his words then gestures to stand next to her.

"Of course." Elsa nods despite feeling a bit suspicious. 

Kristoff makes his way to stand next to her. He fidgets nervously, casting a look around their surroundings. Elsa remains patient, diverting her gaze to the tall shrubbery and flowers. The garden hedges were tall enough and so spread out, that once inside, it felt like a maze. Elsa really enjoyed them. Her mother had designed this garden and her favorite part, right in the center, was a stone water fountain.

"Do you want to go for a walk?"Elsa suggests.

Kristoff looks over at her wide eyed. "Oh, y-yeah." He scratches the back of his neck, pushing away what he had been thinking about.

Elsa stands and gestures for him to follow her. Kristoff waits for her to go first and awkwardly walks behind her. Elsa walks behind the first row of hedges and follows the path to the center of the maze, which she knows by heart. She figures Kristoff wanted somewhere quiet to talk, without any guards hanging around. Elsa continues walking, holding out her hand to touch a few of the white flowers growing out of the hedges.

Kristoff clears his throat. "There's a question I've been meaning to ask you."

Elsa turns slightly to look back at him. He keeps his eyes on the ground. Elsa narrows her brows, thinking. The ice shipments for villagers living near the mountains went out last week, hadn't they? Could she have miscalculated the amount? It was Kristoff's job as official ice carrier of Arendelle to catch her on these things.

"Hm, go ahead." Elsa continues her way through the garden. She eyes some of the blue tulips the gardeners recently planted and quickens her step towards them. These bloomed pretty quickly. Elsa stoops down to get a better look at one.

"Aren't these just lovely-"

"I'd like to personally ask for Princess Anna's hand in marriage." Kristoff blurts out.

Elsa halts. Her eyes are wide and she stands up to look back over at him. Kristoff fidgets nervously, his face turning pink with embarrassment.

"I-I mean, that came out wrong." Kristoff shakes his head at Elsa. "I'd like your blessing for Princess Anna's marriage?" He pauses. " To, me?"

Elsa is shocked. She hadn't been expecting that. She stands quietly, lost in her thoughts. Anna married? I mean they have been together for a year and Kristoff is a great guy. There's no way he'd be doing this just to be part of a royal family. And let's face it, Anna doesn't see herself being with anyone else. Sven would also make a cute ring bearer.

"Um..."Kristoff looks around nervously.

Elsa smiles.

<end>

* * *

Elsa feels herself smiling. She lets out a happy sigh and stands up from the couch.

Of course she blessed the marriage. Anna meant the world to her now that they were finally reunited. She could see how much her and Kristoff loved each other, she wasn't blind. It did catch her off guard when they set the wedding date though. I mean, just two months after the proposal? Oh well, at least her sister was happy. Seeing Anna in such a good mood was contagious, it made everyone around her happy, even Elsa.

Elsa walks slowly from the small sofa towards the rack of colorful dresses by the mirror. She catches a glimpse of her reflection and smiles. Her long platinum braid is wrapped neatly into a bun and her deep blue dress falls gracefully over her body. Elsa fixes a loose hair from her bangs and turns her attention back to the dresses. Since she was Queen, she played an important role in her sister's ceremony, which meant she couldn't be a bridesmaid. Anna insisted that she change the rules to start a new tradition, but Elsa declined. She was happy enough saying her blessing on the alter after the priest read the main verses. Anna and her still had fun trying on the dresses though. The first time Elsa walked into Anna's bedroom in a poofy bright magenta gown, they burst out laughing until tears ran down their faces. After that, Anna insisted that Elsa try on each bridesmaid dress before she chose one for the girls.

Elsa runs her fingers across the rack, settling on the netted sleeve of a light pink dress. This one was pretty.

"Elsa?" A shy voice calls out from behind her.

Elsa turns around, letting the soft fabric leave her grasp. "Oh, Anna!" She gasps bringing a hand up to cover her mouth

Anna steps away from the dressing room curtain sheepishly. She stands in the center of the room and folds her hands in front of her. The white ballgown on her figure fits perfectly. The corset top forms a heart shaped line that brings a romantic feel to the dress and the silken sleeves hang just below her shoulders, resting on her arms. Floral designs are spread intricately across the top and continue its ways into the lace pattern of the skirt. Anna lifts her head to meet Elsa'a eyes. A tint of pink spreads across her cheeks.

"Do you like it?" She whispers.

"Anna, I love it! You look beautiful!" Elsa walks over to her sister and takes her hands. 

Anna smiles shyly. "Do you think Kristoff will like it?" She asks hoping.

"You're going to make a lovely bride." Elsa reassures.

"I guess that's a yes." Anna chuckles to herself nervously.

Elsa briefly looks over the dress again and then frowns.

"What?" Anna's tone becomes panicked. 

"There's just one thing missing." Elsa states matter of fact.

"What's that?"

"A veil." Elsa smiles, guiding Anna over to the large mirror.

A long delicate veil hangs patiently on the top corner. Anna steps up onto the small platform in front of the mirror to lift her dress off the floor. She waits while Elsa fetches the veil from the mirror and walks behind her. Anna grasps the edges and flows them out around her dress evenly while the band is gently pinned into her hair bun. Anna beams at her reflection.

"I'm so nervous." She whispers looking her image up and down.

Elsa laughs. "There's nothing to worry about. Kristoff loves you and you two are meant to be together." Elsa finishes pinning on the veil and walks around to stand in front of Anna.

"I know that." Anna rolls her eyes playfully.

"Then don't be nervous." Elsa counters. She firmly grasps the edges of the veil and pulls them more snug around Anna's skirt. She smooths out a few areas and then steps to the side, admiring her work. Anna stares at herself in the mirror, in awe. Elsa can't help the warm feeling that rises into her chest when she sees Anna dressed up. It makes her smile. Anna bounces on her heels, giving a turn to look at her side view.

"Thank you, Elsa." She says turning to her sister.

"What for?" Elsa glances up curiously.

"For everything. I mean it, really." Anna leans down and attempts to give her sister a hug while still standing on the platform. It doesn't work out too well, as it makes her a few inches taller. She ends up wrapping her arms around Elsa's shoulders and snuggling her chin on Elsa's forehead. The gesture makes Elsa feel like a small child being comforted. Anna's shoulders start shaking and they both burst out laughing.

"Let's get you down from there." Elsa pulls away from the embrace and holds out a hand.

Anna takes it gleefully and fists the middle of her skirt, pulling it up a bit. She gives an over exaggerated squat and hops off the platform. Her feet make a loud slap on the polished wood floor as they make contact.

"Anna! Where are your shoes?" Elsa says surprised, catching sight of her sister's bare feet. 

"What?" Anna whines. "The one's I had on didn't match the dress."

Elsa puts on her best stern face, trying not to laugh. "You're getting married in a church, not a barn. Now go get changed, young lady." She puts her hands on her hips and shoos her away.

"Yes Queen Elsa." Anna rolls her eyes and gives a deep bow. Elsa swats at her arm playfully, but Anna moves quickly out of the way and she misses. Anna picks up her skirt and runs out of reach, sticking out her tongue.

"Anna!" Elsa gasps, looking around to see if anyone caught them in their shenanigans. Anna laughs and skips back to the dressing room, shutting the curtain. She isn't inside for more than a second before someone shouts.

"Hi!"

Anna screams and Elsa hears a crash as something heavy falls behind the curtain.

"Anna!" Elsa rushes forwards, putting a hand on the curtain. She whips it back, frightened that someone accidentally hurt her sister.

Anna stands ready, dress hanger held out in front of her and pointed at a pile of clothes on the floor. The pile starts to move and Elsa puts her hands up, feeling the prickling of ice over her palms. The pile shifts, rising, growing taller. Anna and Elsa share an uncertain glance. Bravely, Anna reaches forwards with the hanger. Elsa steadies her hands. Slowly the hanger closes the gap between them and the clothes.

"Hi guys!" Olaf pops his head out of the clothes pile.

Anna drops the hanger and slumps against the wall with a huff. "Olaf, you scared me!" She holds a hand to her chest trying to steady her heart beat.

Elsa lets out a breath and drops her arms, feeling the warmth return to her hands. Olaf looks between them both, happily. 

"I scared you? You scared me!" Olaf gestures to the dress hanger on the floor.

"Oh, I'm sorry Olaf I-" Anna starts to apologize but Olaf cuts her off.

"What're you guys doing here anyways?" Olaf waddles out of the clothes, kicking off a shirt that gets stuck on his leg. 

Anna and Elsa share a confused glance. Anna gestures down at her wedding dress.

"What are you talking about, Olaf?" Elsa questions.

Olaf walks past them and out of the dressing room, hoping on top of the cherry red sofa.

"They're all looking for you. Didn't you hear?" Olaf looks out the window and points into town.

"Who?" Anna asks.

"The castle guards, duh?" Olaf rolls his eyes.

"What?" Elsa whispers. She feels her mind start to wander. She couldn't think of what Olaf was talking about. They left the castle this morning and everything was fine. Elsa must have looked a bit worried because Anna reaches out to put a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, we'll figure it out, Elsa." She reassures.

Elsa nods, stepping away from the dressing room so Anna can change.

"Ooohh pretty colors!" Olaf exclaims running towards the bridesmaid dresses.

Elsa keeps her eye on him as she walks over to the window quietly. Hopefully everything's all right. Elsa knows Olaf is prone to exaggerating but she can't shake the feeling that something is wrong. Elsa sighs heavily. She shouldn't worry, it won't do her any good. They just need to get back to the castle and find out what the officials need her for. It was most likely about the upcoming wedding anyways. After all, it is in a few weeks. Elsa watches Olaf look through the colorful dresses and tries to shake off her unease. 

"Elsa?"

Elsa jumps slightly, startled out of her thoughts. "Oh, Anna, I didn't see you there."

"Hey, stop worrying. We'll be back to the castle in a jiffy." Anna walks over to the sofa and puts a leg up onto the cushion to tie her boot laces.

"Anna." Elsa sighs, noticing her sister's poor manners.

"What? It's fine." Anna looks over her shoulder to give Elsa a smile. "Really Elsa, you need to learn how to be chill."

"Technically, I am chill." Olaf chimes in, popping his head out from behind the clothes rack.

"Oh course you are Olaf." Anna stands back up.

"No literally, I'm made out of snow." Olaf waddles back towards them, wiping stray fabric string and glitter from his snow. 

Anna shrugs and gives a small smile to Elsa.

"Your majesty. Your highness." A woman's voice behind them gets their attention. She gives a curtsy, holding a large dress box out in front of her. "Arendelle's Boutique is very grateful for your service. We hope that you will decide to choose our boutique for the next royal ceremony." Her brown eyes twinkle and she gives them a sweet smile. Anna nods her head slightly and takes the dress box from the shop keeper's hands.

"Thank you for the offer. The next time Arendelle hosts a ball we will be sure to stop by." Elsa smiles.

The woman rises and folds her hands in front of her dress. "That's...not what I meant." She smiles at Elsa knowingly. Anna gives her sister a look.

"Oh, it's not?" Elsa slightly lifts a brow, concerned that her sister has been conspiring against her.

The shop keeper raises her eyebrows at the statement. "Perhaps we will see you for another wedding?" She gives Elsa a playful wink and Anna stifles a laugh.

Elsa stills, feeling confused. Another wedding? oh. OH. Surely she didn't mean her, did she? Elsa feels her face warm. She doesn't even have a fiance.

"We'll be there." Anna cuts in over the embarrassing silence and smiles back to the shop keeper. The woman turns to leave giving a small wave back. Elsa glances around, feeling a bit awkward.

"Come on Elsa!" Anna laughs, heading for the door. "You too Olaf!" She calls back.

Olaf walks past Elsa, excited. "Elsa, you didn't tell me you were getting married. Who's the lucky fella?"

Elsa shakes her head. Even Olaf is in on this joke? "I'm not getting married, Olaf." She replies following the snowman out the door.

"Not ever?" He asks innocently.

Elsa pauses outside the shop, letting Anna and Olaf get into the carriage before her.

"I'm not sure." She says quietly, mostly to herself. Elsa shakes her head clear of the idea and walks towards the carriage. What a silly question.

 

 


	2. Summer's End

The royal carriage swiftly makes its way back to the castle, the heavy wheels rolling noisily over the dirt path and small rocks, causing it to be a slightly bumpy ride. The inside of the carriage glows richly, as the windows on either side of the carriage are open, allowing the sun to shine through and warm the inside. 

Elsa stays quiet for most of the trip back to the castle, the reason for why she is needed back at home so quickly, clouding her mind. No one seems to notice. Anna and Olaf take the opportunity to fill the silence with a happy discussion about the wedding. It keeps Elsa distracted from worrying.

Anna discusses her wedding cake plans as Olaf and Elsa listen in. There's a long argument on whether or not Olaf has ever eaten a strawberry, to which Anna becomes determined to find him some when they get home. The two friends continue the topic on wedding cakes until they end up slouched against the carriage seats, a daydream like look in their eyes. Elsa smiles at the bitter sweet exchange and allows herself to relax.

As they near the castle, the horses metal shoes begin to clap louder against the road, the dirt path of the outer village breaking away into stone. The carriage driver veers onto the main roads of the towns center. Children run by them playing games, stopping to stare in awe at the royal family's carriage. Olaf takes the opportunity to jump up by the window and wave at them, excitedly. The children smile, waving back just as excitedly to him. Sometimes Anna or Elsa join in when they pass more onlookers, receiving bows from the adults and shouts of joy from the children.

The driver steers the horses down the main route of town and Elsa watches as the buildings and homes begin to vanish, leaving nothing but a wider stone road and some roadside lamp posts. She looks out the window and over to the ocean surrounding the Kingdom. Docks in the port are empty and a few ships are seen off in the distance, delivering Arendelle's traded goods for the week.

Olaf pops his head off and sticks it out the carriage's side window. "Hey we're here!" He yells, catching Anna and Elsa's attention

Elsa feels the slight bump on the seat as they cross over the stone bridge. Olaf stumbles and Anna pulls him inside quickly before he drops his head out the window. The driver guides the horses through the large wooden gates and up to the palace steps. The steeds halt on his command, a deep gust of breath blowing out through their noses. 

Once the carriage stops, Elsa feels unease settle in her stomach. She waits patiently as a guard helps Anna out of the carriage, worry fogging up her mind again. What Olaf had told her in the dress shop earlier, was rather concerning. Elsa had never been out in town and had guards sent to search for her. Was something really wrong?

Elsa shakes her head and lets out a breath, trying to calm her nerves. No, everything is going to be fine. Having time off from castle work just made her a bit overprotective. She was like a mother to Arendelle and it's people, and every tiny problem made her worry. She should be glad that Arendelle had such notable royal officials to take charge while she was gone.

 

The guard smiles and offers his outstretched hand to Elsa. "Your majesty."

Elsa smiles and picks the hem of her gown off the the carriage floor, allowing the guard to help her down the steps. 

Maybe Anna was right and she should try to act a bit more "chill". Elsa thinks.

 

Inside the castle, Anna begins heading up the staircase to the east wing, to her room. Olaf tags along behind her, his snow cloud leaving flurries on the carpet behind him.

Elsa stands silently in the entrance, considering if she should head up to her own room as well.

"Excuse me, your majesty." A man clears his throat.

Elsa turns to see a high ranked guard bowing by the entrance. She nods for him to continue.

"The royal court is awaiting your presence in the meeting hall." He says firmly.

Elsa narrows her brows. "I was not informed of a meeting." She says a bit confused. Sure, she knew now that the officials may have wanted her for something, but to declare a meeting on the matter? It must have been important.

"Their request was urgent, miss. They wish to speak with you, immediately." Something flashes across the guards face, but the emotion is gone before Elsa has time to read it.

Elsa holds her breath, still not knowing the situation at hand. She is unsure of how to respond but nods anyway. "Yes, of course."

The guard returns the gesture and turns to escort her to the meeting hall. Elsa follows him, trying to come up with a situation on why a meeting would be called so late in the day.

"Wait!" A voice calls out behind them.

They both turn to see Anna walking back down the stairs, her dress box still in hand. She locks eyes with Elsa.

"Let me come with you." She says.

Elsa smiles at the kind gesture but shakes her head. "No it's alright Anna. You have things to take care of right now." She replies, gesturing to the box.

Anna pauses on the stairs, looking unsure. Elsa can't help but feel a small bit of comfort by her sister's concern.

"Oh, ok. Well, tell me later?" Anna sounds a little disappointed but she puts a smile on her face and heads back to her room.

Elsa turns back to the guard, who looks nervous from the prolonged exchange. He quickly starts walking. Elsa takes a calming breath and tries to find something else her mind can focus on.

 

She lets her mind wander and takes in the castle decorations. With the wedding just a few weeks away the staff have been running around busily, prepping for the celebration. It was short notice too. By the time many people learned about the engagement, the wedding date had already been made for that coming summer.

Anna chose to decorate the corridors and various halls with dark red floral garland. She even ordered new red velvet tapestries of the Arendelle family crest to be hung in every hallway. Many floral arrangements were also placed around the castle, sitting by staircases, corridor windowsills and any available space. The only rooms not decorated included those on the second floor of the east wing, which housed the royal family bedrooms and studies.

Elsa actually liked the red and white color scheme. It was a sharp contrast to the typical purple and green design of the castle. It made the castle feel warm and inviting.

The guard continues to lead her silently down the rest of the hall and makes a right, to stop in front of the meeting hall doors. He opens the door and Elsa eyes him curiously as she passes into the room.

 

Inside, Elsa is greeted by three officials of Arendelle's royal court. _Strange, she thinks. Usually there are five._

They stand at the foot of the long meeting table, whispering harshly to one another and making large hand gestures. Behind them, Elsa catches a glimpse of a map on the wall. One of them notices Elsa's presence and hushes the talk.

"Queen Elsa, thank you for coming on such short notice. We are sorry if we disrupted your afternoon plans with Princess Anna." Augustoff bows and gives her a sorry smile.

Elsa waves her hand, brushing off the worried look on his face. "It's fine."

He stands still for awhile, wringing his hands together nervously.

"Ah! Right, have a seat." He gestures for her and the others to sit.

Augustoff quickly makes his way to the end chair of the table, since he is the head of the royal court. His walk is a bit unbalanced and the whole table shakes sharply as his hip collides with the corner. He grunts and grabs the edge for support.

"Get a hold of yourself, fool!" The scrawny man to his right scolds him. Elsa recoils in shock at Jenkings' brash choice of words. Sure he was known to have a bit of a temper, but to lose it in a meeting, of all places?

 _Why is everyone acting so different today?_ Elsa thinks. She looks between Jenkings and Augustoff, confused. The strange behavior from the guard earlier, also comes to mind.

Jenkings grumbles to himself and Augustoff apologizes quickly to Elsa and the other men. Elsa looks over at the third man, Haakon, who remains quiet, his gaze set on the wall across from him. Elsa has known Haakon since she was little, he was Augustoff's grandfather, the former head of the royal court. Normally he would greet Elsa with a warm elderly smile, but today he barely even looked her way.

"Parden me." Elsa interrupts. "But, where are the others?" She gestures to the other empty seats.

"Ah! They're busy with the preparations, my Queen."

"Right, continue." Elsa says, the upcoming wedding coming to mind.

Augustoff clears his throat and hesitantly begins "Well, as you may know last year Arendelle experienced an unexpected winter storm-." He pauses. "-during the summer."

Elsa feels her face warm and looks down at the table's surface, embarrassed.

Augustoff's eyes widen in realization at his words. "No, no, no! Your majesty, It is not in my wishes to insult you! I am only speaking of the event! The disruption in our lives that occurred!" Augustoff panics, pleading with Elsa.

Elsa looks back up, mouth agape. That surely sounded like an insult.

"Idiot, stop rambling! You've just insulted our Queen!" Jenkings slams his hands on the table. The sound catches everyone's attention.

"My apologies, my Queen." Augustoff clears his throat. "Anyways, the storm did help Arendelle in certain areas, like for instance, the ice trade. Our water ports have never been better, under these new circumstances." He pauses and stands to show off the map behind him.

"These are all of the water routes that lead to Arendelle's partners in the ice trade. If you follow the lines, they lead out into the center of the country towards kingdoms that have no access to water ports. That is because we have ice carriers that travel from the docked ships, inland." He follows a finger across a red line on the map.

"Arendelle's ice trade supplies the kingdom with it's number one source of revenue. Without it, our people would face poverty." Augustoff pauses and goes to sit back down.

Elsa feels confused. She thought the officials had found something wrong in Arendelle. But, this didn't seem urgent at all. They were just praising her for making Arendelle more profitable? 

"I'm sorry but, this doesn't seem like an urgent matter." Elsa cuts in, confused.

Jenkings' stares at her in shock and Augustoff looks like he is about to throw up. 

"My Queen, please, let me continue!" Augustoff pleads.

Elsa lets out a breath. She can feel her heart beat quicken yet, she doesn't feel nervous about the situation. Rather, it was the way everyone was acting so off from their natural personalities. 

"Let me word it differently. You may have been informed in the past by your father-the late King Agnarr, let him be in peace-about a growing kingdom in the Northern portion of the country." Augustoff starts.

His comment grabs Elsa'a attention.

"Actually, you probably know them as-"

"The Kingdom of the North." Elsa murmurs. She doesn't know why she remembers the name. It was something her father had been talking about before he and her mother had passed.

"Yes!  Well, you see, recently they have become rather interested in Arendelle's ice trade, which is unsettling since they have just gained control of two smaller border kingdoms." Augustoff states worriedly.

Elsa thinks hard on the new information. "So, The Kingdom of the North wishes to partake in Arendelle's ice trade?" Elsa questions. If another kingdom wants to befriend Arendelle, she has no problem with it. Although, she can sense why the officials would want her input on the decision. 

Augustoff looks conflicted and glances at the other two men by his side. "Yes, uh no, actually it's quite the opposite." He pulls out a handkerchief and dabs at the sweat growing on his forehead.

Elsa furrows her brows, confused. This wasn't making any sense.

Jenkings sighs. "For God's sake Augustoff, we don't have time for this!" He turns to Elsa. "Your majesty." He says quieter.

Elsa looks at him.

"Arendelle has easily accessible water ports that lead out to a large amount of other kingdoms for trade. Our number one thing for revenue on these very ships, is ice. The dreadful snow storm we experienced last summer not only provided us with twice the amount of ice, but twice the amount of profits. The storm however, also put our kingdom into a weakened state. People froze, our food and commodities supply from other countries stopped, we had no ruler for a short period of time. Now, we are no longer in turmoil but we are still picking ourselves up." Jenkings stops.

Elsa's nerves tense up. What is going on? Her heart beats faster, pounding against her chest. Quickly, she searches her mind for where this conversation might be headed. 

"We have a weakened kingdom and a very profitable never ending supply of ice, that comes with an Ice Queen." Jenkings says each word slowly, allowing it to sink in.

Elsa's eyes widen in realization. Her breath comes out as a light fog.

"The Kingdom of the North does not want to partake in Arendelle's ice trade. They want to take it." Jenkings ends in a shakey voice, closing his eyes.

Elsa glances around the room nervously. The three men sit in silence. 

_They want to take Arendelle's ice trade?_

But, the only way to use the ice trade would be if they controlled all of Arendelle. Elsa's breath hitches in her throat. The air around her feels cold and ice begins to prick her hands. A chair scraping against the floor catches her attention. 

 "My Queen." Haakon starts in a low strained voice.

"No, please. Tell me it isn't true." Elsa has to force her voice over a lump growing in her throat. 

Haakon's sad eyes watch her, his face stricken with grief.

"Arendelle has been thrown into a war."

Elsa freezes, snow starting to fall around the room softly.

"Your majesty, are you ok?" Augustoff's voice is foggy and Elsa can barely hear him. Her heart is pounding to loudly in her ears, her hands shake, and she feels cold. She stands abruptly.

"I think I need time to be alone." Elsa hears herself say the words but she can't concentrate on them. The ice starts forming on her palms.

"I'm afraid we don't have much time." Haakon says sadly, looking at the floor.

The conversation signals its end, each of the men lost in grief. Elsa turns and rushes out.

The guard outside jumps and calls out to her as she rushes past him. Elsa ignores him and takes an unused staircase up to the second floor. She doesn't want anyone to be around her. She feels the tears start to break from her eyes but holds them in. Luckily, she doesn't bump into any staff on her way to the east wing.

Elsa reaches the familiar white and blue door and throws it open, only to slam it shut behind her. Her back hits the door and she brings her hands up to her face.

The look on that guard's face earlier, it was _fear_.

Elsa breaks down, her mind goes black and the ice magic takes control.


	3. Bearer of Bad News

All Elsa can feel is the cold. It's dark and it's  _very_ cold.

She thought everything was going so well. Now, it seems like it was all just an illusion.

When Elsa returned to Arendelle last summer, it was a mess. The eternal freeze that she had cast so foolishly over her kingdom had left people stranded, cold, and hungry. She had put everyone's lives in danger to pursue some silly dream of hers. All Elsa had wanted then was to live in a world where she could be herself, without hurting anyone....

And look where it got her. It didn't work, not last time and not now either.

Elsa thought she was able to demonstrate her ability to control her magic and protect her people, as Queen. But it seems that vision was all in her head. Who knows how long The Kingdom of the North had been planning an attack? It just sucked that she didn't know about it until now.

Elsa releases a shaky sigh, leaning her head back to rest on the door. She sits on the floor, arms wrapped tightly around her legs.

Elsa knows locking herself away is the worst thing she can do at a time like this. The royal officials had made it clear that they needed her to be ready for whatever situation was thrown at them. Arendelle needs their Queen and Elsa vowed to be one that would protect and care for her people at any cost.

A sting of pain hits her chest and she grimaces.

How can she really protect her kingdom? How on earth could she make her people feel safe? How is she supposed to do that when  _she_ doesn't even feel safe? Is she just supposed to lie and tell them everything's okay when it so obviously is not?

Elsa feels another tear escape and run down her cheek. Submitting to these emotions makes her angry, after all the work she went through learning how to control them. Elsa roughly wipes the tear away and squints across her bedroom, at the window. She doesn't know how long she's been in her room. She can't see out the window, not with the thick layer of ice blocking the glass.

Elsa shifts her gaze over the rest of her belongings. With the door shut and the window covered, she can hardly see through the dark.

Ice cracks and sprawls away from her feet across the floor. It shoots up the far corner of the room, jutting out in sharp daggers up the wall. Elsa notices her bedside table is missing and sees that it must have been caught in the storm, as a table leg sticks out from the ice wall. Books have flown off the shelf, papers scattered, her precious belongings frozen stiff to the floor and covered in snow and ice. Her lovely canopy bed also took a toll, the silk sheets of fabric that draped down from the frame, now tattered and frostbitten. 

Elsa sighs sadly. She had gotten better at controlling her ice magic but this time it won her over. Elsa can't just see it, she can feel it, deep inside her chest. Her whole body feels like it's unraveling, succumbing to the freezing cold magic inside her.

Elsa rises slowly off the floor, gripping the door handle for support. She hears a rip as the cloth of her dress peels itself off the icy ground. She stands on shaky feet and attempts to calm herself. She needs to stay strong, for her people, for her sister...

Oh no! Anna!

She's going to be so devastated. There's no way the wedding can continue when Arendelle could possibly have a war on the way. It would put the lives of anyone who attended in danger.

Elsa feels her heart sink. How is she going to tell her? She knows she has to, having Anna hear the news from anyone else would be wrong.

Elsa closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. She needs to do this, for Anna. Elsa brings her arms out to her sides, slowly raising them up towards the ceiling. Love will thaw, she tells herself. With slight effort, the room begins to warm, starting at the floor and gradually going upwards. Elsa feels the ice disappear around her and move up into the air. She concentrates hard, compacting it together, then lets it go. Elsa opens her eyes just in time to watch the tiny snow ball hit the floor and feather over the wood, vanishing.

She takes a good look at her surroundings. Her room really was a mess. The bedside table and canopy curtains above her bed prove true to be broken. The books and objects belonging to the book shelf are scattered over the floor, many torn or broken. The ice, her fear, however, is all gone. The only thing left is hallow feeling in her chest and tired eyes. Elsa casts her heavy gaze to the direction of the window, looking out through the glass and over the balcony at the sunset. So its been a few hours....

Shakily, Elsa walks over to her connected bathroom, careful not to step on any of her belongings. She steps inside and catches a glimpse of her reflection in the bathroom mirror over the sink.

She looked drained.

Her eyes were slowly fading from pink back to white. Her face looked puffy and her bun had loosened, drooping onto her neck. Stray hair stuck out in all directions. Elsa sighs, pulling out the ribbons that tied her hair together.

She picks up the lavender hair brush and starts combing out the knots. The simple action calming her and releasing the built up tension. Her platinum hair eventually returns to its silky smooth texture and falls into place just below her shoulders.

Elsa turns away from the mirror and walks over to the chair sitting next to the bath tub. A casual long sleeved blue dress waits patiently. she undresses and pulls it on, grimacing at the stiff feel of her former dress.

"Frostbitten." Elsa mumbles dryly.

She leaves the old dress in the same place on the chair. Elsa tries composing herself one last time, giving an uncertain glance at her reflection in the mirror. First thing's first, she must visit Anna.

* * *

 

 

 _Everything is going to work out fine._ Elsa tells herself.

She walks down the hallway to Anna's bedroom, the bright purple and pink door coming into view.

_She's your sister, she'll understand._

Elsa pauses in front of the bedroom door. Suddenly, the dark thoughts begin to cloud her mind again.

What if she doesn't understand? This could end up just like the night of the coronation. This is Anna's wedding. Anna has probably dreamed about getting married ever since she was a little girl. Having a childhood with no one to talk to, a sister that never acknowledged her, true love was probably the only thing she had to believe in. Elsa didn't really want to take that away from her, did she?

She hesitates, standing under the dim hallway lights as the seconds tick by. Elsa considers waiting until tomorrow morning, knowing the news could ruin her sister's night. She senses the hallway become eerily quiet around her, as if the castle itself is waiting on her decision. No, Elsa sighs. Anna deserves to know now.

Elsa lifts a shaky hand to the door and knocks.

It's quiet on the other side followed by a long period of rustling of clothes, or tissue paper? It's followed by a loud bang as something heavy is dropped and a closet door slams shut. Elsa hears footsteps dash over to the door quickly then there's a pause. The handle starts to turn and Anna's auburn hair shyly peeks out from the crack of the door.

"Oh, Elsa." Anna realizes it's her sister and fully opens up the door. "Ha, sorry for keeping you waiting, I thought you were Kristoff." Anna laughs breathlessly and scratches her head.

Elsa forces a small smile at her sister's nervous antics. At least she's still in a positive mood, she thinks. It may be easier for her to understand what she has to say.

Elsa glances over her shoulder and sees a mess of wedding decorations covering the floor. Anna must have been busy making party favors. She also notices a few different floral wreaths propped up by the bed.

A pang of sadness hits her heart. Anna sure dedicated her full time to planning out this wedding.

Anna catches her gaze and follows it over to the wreaths. "Oh! The kingdom we ordered the alter centerpieces from, came in today". Anna clenches her fists and dances in place excitedly. "Do you wanna see them?"  She stares at Elsa happily, waiting for a response.

"Um, sure." Elsa replies. Sitting together in Anna's room may be a better place to talk privately than in the open hallway.

"Great, come in!" Anna ushers her inside, pulling her lightly by the arm. She quickly scans the hallway left to right before closing the door.

Elsa enters slowly, moving to stand at the foot of the bed. She nervously combs through the ends of her blonde hair with her fingers. A bad habit. Anna skips over to the bed and spreads out her arms towards the floral wreaths in a 'ta da' motion. It catches Elsa off guard and she chuckles, a bit of optimism rising inside her.

"They look lovely. Where will you set them all up?" Elsa glances between the three centerpieces.

"Oh, I'm only going to use one but I ordered three because I couldn't decide on the colors." Anna shrugs cheekily and turns to face them. "Want to help pick?" She looks back over her shoulder and smiles warmly.

"Sure."

Anna pulls her closer and they sit side by side on the bed. Anna takes a moment to shuffle through some decorations on her bed and Elsa wonders how she should break the news.

Anna picks up a deep red floral wreath and hands it to Elsa. She takes it and props it up on her lap, looking it over hesitantly.

"Well I decided we needed a a color theme for the big day so, Kristoff and I discussed some possible choices and, we picked red." Anna starts.

"But, some of the people at the florist suggested that pink or gold would also match the red and white theme." Anna holds another wreath showing the white and pink flowers to her sister. A string of gold ribbon weaves through them elegantly. 

"I liked the design of this one, with the gold ribbon, but still thought the red flowers was the winner." Anna reaches awkwardly over to grab the last wreath off the floor. "So, the florist made this beauty, special. I'm just not sure if it's too much?" Anna tilts her head studying the third wreath.

Elsa looks it over. The white flowers cover most of the wreath with some of their petals dipped with a bit of red on the tips. The gold string also wraps around them beautifully.

Elsa finds her voice. "I like the dipped petals." She says reaching over to touch one of the makeshift red flowers.

Anna hums in agreement and tilts her head. "So....Which one do you like best?"

Elsa remains silent, her will to keep up the conversation gone. Would Anna really want her opinion? Because if that's the case, would she be disappointed if Elsa said none of them are fit for the wedding? Because a wedding is not fit to take place?

Anna's cheerful voice fades into the background as Elsa struggles to find the courage to break the news. She sits quietly lost in thought, tracing a finger over the flowers on the pretty wreath. How's she supposed to start a conversation like that anyway? Oh, hey Anna, your alter pieces are lovely and all but you won't need any of them, since your not getting married.

"Hey, Elsa you ok?" Anna asks, pulling Elsa from her half hearten joke.

Elsa diverts her attention back up to her sister. Anna gives her a worried look, now seeming to notice Elsa's worn out appearance. Elsa takes a deep breath. She needs to tell her.

"No, Anna, I'm not." 

The sullen sound of her voice grabs Anna's full attention. She leans over to take her sister's hands in her own and gives them a squeeze, beckoning Elsa to continue. The look in her eyes makes Elsa feel worse. Anna was always so willing to give up something important just to make her sister happy. Would she do that now?

Elsa squeezes her hands back, starting slowly."You know that meeting I went to earlier?" 

"Right. How'd it go?" Anna asks cheerfully, trying to lighten the mood.

Elsa calms her nerves and decides to just tell it to her straight forward.

"The officials....they say Arendelle's at war." She chokes out. Her breath hitches in her throat and she waits for Anna'a reaction.

Anna's smile slowly fades away. "What?" She asks, concern melting into her voice.

Elsa takes in a deep breath. "The Kingdom of the North wants to take over Arendelle's ice trade and the only way to do that is if they take over Arendelle itself." 

Anna sits quietly next to her, lost in thought. "But..." Anna furrows her eyebrows, hands slack and the wreath forgotten on her lap. "Are you sure?" She asks.

"The royal court has been watching them this past year and it looks like they're ready to push into action. They've already forced two other inland kingdoms into their growing empire. Arendelle could be next." Elsa speaks softly. Her eyes sting and she distracts herself by focusing on the warmth of her sister's hands. 

They sit together on the bed, trying to comfort each other but neither can focus at all. The silence drags out and Elsa dreads telling her sister the next part.

"Look Anna, I know how much this means to you-" she starts again. Anna watches her with wide sad eyes, now realizing what her sister is trying to say.

"-but in all due respect, for the safety of our kingdom, and other kingdoms...." Elsa stops, looking up at her sister. Anna is quiet and her hands loosen from their grasp.

"I ask you to postpone the wedding."

Elsa feels terrible but the truth is out and it needed to be done. A wedding now is just too dangerous, Anna must know that.

Anna looks away, pulling herself free from Elsa's hands. She wraps her arms around her torso, hugging herself tightly. Her eyes squint shut and Elsa feels guilt rise inside her. She doesn't know what else to do and reaches out to touch her shoulder in comfort. "Anna look I'm-"

"Can you give me a minute?" Anna whispers through shakey breathes. "I-I just need some time to think about this." 

Elsa watches her sister with a pained expression. A few hours ago Elsa was in her place. She knows leaving her alone is the best way to let Anna think on the new information, as much as it hurts her to see her like this.

"Of, course." Elsa stands up, placing the red wreath on her spot on the bed and quietly letting herself out. Elsa tries not to look back as the door closes, she can hear small whimpers come from inside the room. Elsa pulls her arms around herself in a tight hug, closing her eyes.

This wasn't supposed to happen.

 


	4. Uncertainty

Elsa makes her way down the hallway, back to her room. A gray cloud lingers over her head. She felt terrible. Right now, there wasn't much she could do about the situation. If only she knew more on how to stop this, then maybe things would brighten up, things could go back to normal.

In the distance, a maid makes her way up the staircase, a pile of clean folded towels in her hands. Elsa glances at the white and blue door of her bedroom, the thought of the broken nightstand and torn curtains coming to mind. It occurs to her that she might have some free time if someone came to tidy up her room.

"Excuse me?" Elsa calls out to the woman.

The maid stops in her tracks when she hears Elsa, giving her best curtsy. Elsa motions for her to come forward.

"Yes, your majesty." She asks, giving a polite smile. The gesture feels off. After having her conversation with Anna, Elsa realizes that no one in Arendelle has been informed of what's going on.

Elsa glances at the carpet, her messy bedroom seeming far less of a problem then what her people are going to go through. "Um, my room experienced a bit of... bad weather. Could you have someone come by and fix it up by tonight?" She asks politely.

The maid looks a bit stunned but complies. "Of course, right away your majesty." She curtsies again and hurries off with her towels.

Elsa sighs. Now with the issue of her room out of the way, she can make great use of her free time. Elsa walks away from her room with a new destination in mind.

* * *

 

Elsa yawns, stretching her arms out over her head. _What time is it?_ She wonders. Elsa looks over to the grandfather clock behind her.  _11 O'clock already?_   She leans her elbows on the desk in front of her and rubs at her eyes tiredly.

After visiting Anna, she decided that the best course of action would be to do some research on The Kingdom of the North. Elsa found herself headed to the second floor of the castle library, located in the west wing. It took a lot of searching, but eventually she found several books about the other kingdoms surrounding Arendelle. To her disappointment, none of them mentioned the kingdom she had in mind.

Her second idea was to pick up a few books about castle defense. Elsa figured if she brushed up on her knowledge about self defense strategies, it may put some of the royal officials, and perhaps her sister, at ease. It would also make it easier to protect her people once the time came, but Elsa didn't want to think about that.

Although, reading them was proving to be a lot more difficult than she imagined. Elsa could barely understand the terminology let alone get her head around each of the concepts. She wished there was someone more knowledgeable about this stuff that could teach her.

Elsa groans tiredly, flipping the book in front of her shut. Today had been mentally exhausting.

Wait. Elsa thinks, shooting up in her chair. Why doesn't she just ask Arendelle's General? 

Elsa ponders the idea, tapping her fingers on the desk top. Who was Arendelle's General?

Elsa narrows her brows at the thought. Most of the guards, or soldiers she could also call them, were commanded by higher ranking guards when fighting or defending the castle walls. These higher ranked officers were commanded by the royal court, including Elsa herself. Typically, if it were a King, he would assume the role of army General. 

"Great." Elsa rolls her eyes at the idea of being a General. There wouldn't be a problem for her to take the title as she was by blood, Queen. But, never in her life had she studied this topic. That means she would have to appoint one of the royal officials to the position.

Elsa looks across the library, towards the stained glass windows separating the large room from the hallway. A rainbow of colors cast their light onto the dark carpet.

What about Augustoff, he was head of the royal court. No, Elsa doubted he could take on such a demanding role, he couldn't even stand up straight at the meeting earlier. There was also Jenkings, despite his sour personality, who was a mathematical genius. Though, he was better at solving problems in Arendelle's economy. Elsa continues her mental search through the other officials, each having a specific role in the court.

She shakes her head, exhausted from thinking so heavily. Perhaps she should just have Augustoff take the title and the royal court could help him make the decisions.

Elsa begins to stack up the books, feeling drowsy and needing a good nights sleep. She looks over at the last book added to the top of the stack.

"A Soldiers Guide to Castle Defense." She reads aloud. Elsa remembers seeing copies of this book around the castle. It's usually one of the many books read by new recruits so they can pass their training.

Elsa picks it up, eyes shifting over the dark blue cover. It wouldn't be bad to read it over. Elsa stands from her chair and holds the book to her chest. She hopes this will be enough, for now.

Elsa reaches over to turn off the gas lamp on the desk and makes her way out of the library. When the doors shut, she looks through its glass windows one last time. With another yawn, she heads in the direction of the east wing.

 

Elsa walks leisurely, not bothering to rush herself anymore tonight. Her body urgently needed sleep and she didn't plan on denying it any by locking herself away in the library. Casually she let's her gaze wander the halls, taking in the sight of the red floral garland and matching flowers throughout her stroll. The sight of them should make her feel sad, but Elsa's mind is too tired to think much of them. Making a right, Elsa finds herself back in the east wing, on track to her room.

As she gets closer to her familiar white and blue door, a pair of muffled voices can be heard coming from one of the rooms. Elsa approaches the purple and pink door to her right and she can hear the voices just a bit clearer. Elsa pauses. Is Anna still up, this late? Quietly, Elsa tiptoes closer to the door. It hangs open a tiny crack, the yellow light inside barely coming out into the hallway.

Elsa feels guilty, maybe she should check in on her, see how shes doing? They could use a good sister to sister talk. Elsa gets closer, holding her hand up to knock.

A deep voice rises on the other side. "I know, I know." It soothes.

That's not Anna, Elsa thinks. Elsa drops her hand and leans closer to the door, taking a peek inside.

She sees Anna sitting cross legged on her bed, playing with a stuffed toy in her lap. The lamps by her bedside light up the otherwise dark room, casting shadows over her saddened expression. "I just wanted this to be perfect..." she whispers. Her hair is out of her braids and it hangs in waves over her shoulders. "....and now, what's gonna happen?" She sniffles back tears.

Kristoff sits on the side of her bed, a hand on her thigh. "Hey, it's alright. We're going to be fine." He pats her leg trying to get a positive response. Anna ignores it and continues to play with the stuffed animal.

An unknown feeling creeps its way into Elsa's chest. She narrows her brows, trying to decipher it while continuing to listen onto the conversation.

Anna looks up at him, her eyes glistening with fresh tears. "Kristoff...I'm scared."

Krisftoff pulls her into a tight hug without hesitation. They sit in silence as Anna wraps her arms around him and weeps.

"Anna, I would  _never_   let anyone hurt you. You'll be safe, as long as your in my arms." Kristoff replies. He strokes the hair on the back of her head. "I promise."

The emotion inside Elsa gets stronger and she realizes what she had been feeling. The guilt had fallen away, leaving her with a pang of jealousy. Elsa steps back from the door, leaving the couple alone. She felt jealous of her sister because she had someone else to go to for comfort. Elsa lowers her head and walks towards her room alone, the battle defenses book tucked under her arm. She reaches the white and blue door and goes inside.

 

 

Elsa looks at the neat job the cleaning staff did on her room. The things on the floor have been picked up, a new nightstand sits by her bed, and beautiful deep purple sheer curtains hang off the canopy's frame.

Elsa sighs. She shouldn't feel jealous. Anna and Kristoff are in a relationship, they're engaged, that's how they should act with each other.

Elsa places the book on the night stand and heads over to her closet to find a night dress.

A thought crosses her mind. Elsa never really had anyone before she let out the secret about her powers. She hadn't wanted anyone. But, now that she was free, she had Anna and even Olaf to rely on. But was it enough?

Elsa pulls a white night dress out of the closet, smoothing the wrinkles on the thin fabric. She starts undoing her afternoon clothes and pulls it on.

Anna was going to get married, probably start a new chapter in her life, start a family with Kristoff. Olaf was just a snowman, he could do whatever he wanted. And Elsa, would she be alone?

Elsa shakes her head, trying to rid the depressing thoughts. No, she didn't wish for the life Anna did. The way her life was now, was the way she wanted it. Elsa never imagined finding someone special to share the rest of her life with. She never expected to rekindle the strong relationship with her sister either. So, in the end, didn't she already have more than one thing that she wanted?

Yes. Elsa nodded to herself heading over to the large bed. She was perfectly fine with the way things were. Elsa tucks herself into the covers, putting a reassuring smile on her face. All these emotions have gone to her head, she just needs to rest.

 

Night continues and Elsa lays awake in bed, staring up at the high ceiling above her. It was useless, she couldn't sleep. 

Elsa heaves out a loud sigh, rolling over on her side. She looks at her bookshelf on the wall, half covered in the shadows and half in the moonlight from her window. After everything she did today, she still wasn't a single step closer to solving Arendelle's problem.

The royal court was a mess, they didn't know how to handle this situation anymore than Elsa did. Her sister had said she was scared, which meant Elsa didn't do a great job at breaking the news to her. There was also the problem on how to tell her people about the news. And, Elsa had an empty lonely feeling in her chest.

Elsa groans, snuggling her face into the pillow. This was so much harder than she ever imagined. How on earth is she going to convince everyone that things will turn out fine? A Queen that has no idea what she's doing. She can't even understand a simple defense strategy book. How did her father manage to do all this?

Elsa blinks open her eyes at the thought. Right, her father was King during the last war and he was able to protect and defend Arendelle from invasion. If he was here, he would probably know exactly what to do.

Elsa's eyes wander along the bookshelf. He was the one that mentioned The Kingdom of the North to her in the first place. She stops on the top shelf of the book case, locking her eyes on a small worn out box. Then, she remembers the key.

 


	5. The Journal

Elsa clutches her cloak tighter around her night dress. She skims the dark hallway, casting a glance over her shoulder before pushing forwards.

She tip toes carefully down the darkened hallway, slippers staying on the carpeted portion of the floor as to not make a sound. The heavy drapes hanging over the windows allow little moonlight to pass through, making it hard to see. It's always dark in this part of the castle, chandeliers are never lit, the drapes always drawn shut. 

Elsa walks cautiously. The wind from her gait causes a black cloth on the wall beside her to rustle. She pauses, looking over at the sheer fabric. The people in the portrait behind it smile sadly at her, as if they feel sorry. Tears threaten to prick her eyes and Elsa blinks, looking away from them. She glances down at the heavy iron key in her hand. If she is correct, it should fit into one of these locked doors coming up.

At the end of the hallway, Elsa peeks around the corner. Two doors are left. A tall window hangs at the end, the drapes blocking the light from outside. Elsa feels her hands shake. She hasn't been down here since she was six. Slowly, she steps around the corner, making her way past the first pair of large double doors. They tower over her and Elsa has to catch her breath.

"Mama! Papa!" A chirpy voice calls out.

Elsa gasps, turning towards the noise and watching the hall around her transform itself. Her body feels like it's stuck in a trance, the memory appearing before her becoming so vivid, and  _real._

Small footsteps run down the hall, a little girl in a blue dress appears. She runs over to the foot of the large doors, the wood now appearing brighter and lively as sun shines brightly through the large window. Shadows from it's frame cast funny lines across the purple carpet. The little girl takes no notice of Elsa as she rapidly knocks on the door, jumping on her toes. The door handle turns and a man in a rich black and red uniform steps out.

"Papa!" The girl shouts happily, running up to hug his legs.

The man chuckles warmly, bending over to ruffle her blonde hair. "There's our little Princess." He says, his voice soft and deep.

"I made something for the baby! Is she here yet?" The little girl clutches the sash around his torso excitedly.

A woman in a green dress comes around the corner, breathing heavily. "I'm so sorry your majesty, once she heard the news she dashed away from me."

"It's alright, Mildred." The man nods, his amber hair catching the sunlight.

"Yes, my King." The woman curtsies and stands patiently.

The man turns his attention to the little girl. "Would you like to say hello to Princess Anna?" He asks softly.

The girl's deep blue eyes widen and she nods. The man takes her hand and leads her into the room.

Inside, a woman lays underneath many blankets on a large bed. The sheer curtains around her bed flow softly by a warm spring breeze. Her dark brown hair is long and she holds something close to her chest, wrapped in a yellow blanket. The man leads the girl over to the bed. She lets go of his hand and crawls on top of the bed sheets.

"Be careful." He says, pushing her up as she almost slides back down. The girl looks over at the small person in her mother's arms.

"This is Anna, your new sister." The woman says. Her brown eyes look tired but warm. The girl beams, putting a hand on the yellow bundle.

"Hi Anna. My name's Elsa. I'm gonna be your big sister."

The baby's eyes open and she looks up at the little girl who shys away, pulling her mother's arm close.

The woman smiles. "I hear you made something for Anna?" She asks. The girl nods.

"Want to give it to her?" She encourages.

The little girl pulls away and looks hesitantly at her father. He sits down on the edge of the bed and nods warmly. The little girl rubs her hands together, slowly moving them apart in a circular motion. A small beam of white light sparkles in her hands. She cups them to her mouth and blows out a breath of air, causing small glittery snowflakes to fall gently over the bed.

Baby Anna looks up and watches them. A snowflake lands on her nose and she giggles. The woman smiles down at her daughters. 

The man holds out a hand, catching some of the last snow that falls. He puts his hand up to his mouth and blows it at the little girl like a kiss. The girl smiles brightly and sits herself on her father's lap. She looks over at the baby.

"We're gonna be best friends."

Elsa watches the dreamlike scene in front of her darken, fading away. She reaches out a hand as if trying to bring it back but is left with nothing but a hard wooden door.  Elsa's hand falls slowly off the door and she looks down, feeling hurt. The key sits heavy in her other hand and she clenches her fist around it.

She turns around and heads to the other door. The Arendelle family crest carves deep into its wood, the shine and shimmer it use to have now worn away. Elsa steps forward and tries the iron key into the lock.

Elsa raises her eyebrows. It fits.

She holds her breath and steps forwards to turn the door knob. The door opens with a creak and Elsa stands in the doorway for a few moments, catching her bearings.

It still looked the same.

She feels a swell of warmth inside her chest as she takes in the dusty room. The windows on the wall in front of her aren't covered, moonlight peering through the glass and lighting the room. Her father's favorite chair sits by them, under a beautiful acrylic painting. To her left is his desk, cluttered with a mess of papers and books, just the way he last left it. There's a book shelf behind it and along the wall near the door. Many artifacts from his journeys and travels lay across it.

Many joyful childhood memories cross her mind as she examines the room. Her eyes wander over the foreign objects, spying glass beads, old coins, and small trinkets from his many travels. Elsa finds herself walking over to the book shelf, running a hand along the spines of the old books. There were books on about every ancient civilization she could think of, world encyclopedias, and homemade journals. She stops at a small brown leather one and pulls it out, opening up the cover.

The delicate cursive handwriting of her mother scrawls over the page.  _Africa._ With it underneath.  _Queen Iduna._ Elsa turns to a random page and brushes her fingers over a pencil sketch of a bird. The written date on top of the yellowed page reads,   _June 1815._ A few years before Elsa was born. Elsa closes the book and returns it back to the shelf.

If her father had any information that would help her, it would be here. Elsa searches around the room a bit more before turning to his desk. Anything recent would be there, it was the last work he touched.

Elsa feels her throat tighten and tries to swallow the feeling away. Gracefully, she walks behind the desk, taking a seat in the old chair. She doesn't worry about the dust, her cloak will protect her night dress.

Elsa takes a deep breath skimming over the contents on the desk top. It felt wrong to touch anything.This was the only place she had left of her parents. Every room in the castle could be rearranged, their belongings moved, nothing held their touch anymore.

Except here. Elsa knows this because she had locked the room herself, stealing the key from her parents' bedroom the day of their funeral, the day no one was in the castle, no one except her.

Elsa feels her eyes water but she holds the tears in, pulling the skirt of her night dress into her fists. When she looked at the room around her, the desk in front of her, it felt like her father was still here. Like he stepped out for a minute and she was waiting for him to come back. Elsa takes slow breaths trying to calm herself. She rubs her eyes. 

"It's alright, Elsa." King Agnarr's voice echos through her head.

Elsa looks up, expecting to see her father in the room. He's not.

Slowly she works up her courage, wiping away the sad thoughts and starting her search.

She sifts through the papers on the desk, noticing that most of the work is in his writing. Notes he took at meetings, things to remember.

Elsa carefully picks up the papers she reads and places them off to the side. She searches through all the work on top of the desk but finds nothing other than business documents. Elsa sighs, slumping in the chair. The dust that kicked up from the paper makes her nose itch and the room is starting to feel cold from not being heated.

Elsa looks over the covers of the few books on his desk, disheartened. They don't prove to be helpful either.

She feels a small tickle on her leg and automatically reflexes. Her ankle hits the bottom of the desk sharply.

"Ow!' Elsa hisses and leans down to rub her ankle. _That better not have been a spider_ , she thinks.

Elsa catches a glimmer of gold as she rubs her leg underneath the desk. "Drawers?" Elsa reaches out to touch the cold handle of a lower desk drawer. She didn't know there were drawers.

Curiously, Elsa opens the first one. An array of letters are tucked neatly in a row. She sifts through them, reading leisurely. Most are addressed from other kingdoms. Invitations, trade matters, etc.

Elsa opens the other drawer and finds the same thing. She reads the letters, finding nothing that fits her current situation and eventually the papers pile up on top of the desk.

Elsa sighs heavily, resting her elbows on the desk and holding her head in her hands. She feels tired, maybe she shouldn't have bothered to come here. Elsa refolds the letters and places them back inside the drawer. As she goes to close it, the bottom shifts, clunking into the wooden sides. Elsa pauses. A wooden drawer shouldn't move like that. Elsa leans closer, putting a hand through the letters and feeling the bottom of the drawer. 

 _It's not wood_. She thinks.  _It's leather!_ Elsa's eyes widen. It's a journal, just like the one her mother took traveling.

Elsa digs at the gap between the journal and the inside of the drawer until the book lifts up. She pulls it out, brushing dust off the cover. A title is sprawled across it.

 _Mavaria?_ Elsa feels the ice magic inside her flicker and she opens the journal. A folded piece of paper falls out and she catches it before it hits the floor. Elsa opens it nervously, her pulse quickening in excitement of a secret journal. The paper reads:

 

_King Mikhail,_

_It may come surprising to hear from me, as we have never met. My name is King Agnarr of the Kingdom of Arendelle. Our family controls one of the largest ice trades in the country. It may not sound very impressive, as your Kingdom also lives year round amongst the ice and snow. But I am not writing to impress._

_I have a favor to ask of you._

_I've heard the stories about your son, Jokul, was his name? You must tell me, is the story of his curse true? I am fascinated to hear of his situation. How strong is the magic? How does one control it, use it for good? Please, I must know. I ask not in greed but for my family, who finds ourselves in a similar situation._

_My daughter, we believe she was born with this power. It was nothing at first but as she ages the magic only grows stronger. It is getting out of our control. We fear she may frighten the people and be unable to rule when her time comes. What do we do? More importantly, how do we control it?_

_I_ _am desperate for answers. If the written word does not suffice, send coordinates to your location, I will leave at once. Please, we need your family's help._

_King Agnarr_

 

Elsa's eyes are wide, her hands shake, her whole body trembles in shock. What is this? Breath comes out of her in a fog and Elsa can feel ice prick her hands. Her father had told her to always keep this magic a secret. Why would he be writing letters about it to some unknown person, another King of all people?

But that's not what made her stomach drop. Elsa felt a little light headed as she reread her father's words. He believed that this King's son was cursed? With what? Elsa feels the ice magic inside her dance around knowingly. She doesn't want to believe it.

Elsa looks away from the letter and into the moon lit study. There's no way. Her throat tightens and Elsa feels the room drop about ten degrees. Suddenly she needs to know more. Elsa flips to the first page of the journal, reading her father's words, like a diary. Elsa summarizes the first few pages.

Her parents head out of Arendelle on a ship, sailing to a Kingdom called Mavaria. Her father writes for two weeks about nothing but the vast seas and daily life aboard the ship. Finally, they arrive at a mountain side kingdom. The people who meet them at the docks are soldiers. Her parents are then escorted to the castle where they are fitted to a guest room and allowed to settle in for the next two days. 

Later that day, they meet the King and his wife. Her father writes what they told him about the curse:

 

 _Tonight, Mikhail told us the story of what happened the day of the curse. He says his daughter was the one to inform him of  Jokul's disappearance. They went ice skating, he said and a few hours later, their daughter came running home_ _crying. She kept crying that something happened to him so, Mikhail sent troops out in search of the lost Prince._

_The troops returned with the young Prince, who was unconscious and appeared ill. Upon questioning, the troops said they found him by broken ice in the frozen pond. A cloaked figure was seen near his body but they fled once the troops got close. The King feared it was a sorceful witch that lived in the mountains. He called a healer, but the Prince's body temperature had dropped so dramatically that there wasn't much he could do medically. Jokul wasn't expected to live through the night._

_Later that week, the Prince "woke up" from his frozen sleep, his once brown hair now turned white. The healer confirmed that the sorceress must have been involved as there was strange magic in the air. And slowly that magic made itself known._

_Many people were scared of the curse at first, but Jokul's determination to use the magic for good eventually won their affection. The Prince studies with the army General and decided to practice the magic into his training. It calmed those who were scared as they saw the Prince's true love and devotion to the Kingdom. Mikhail states that "people will fear what they don't understand, until they find the good in it." For Jack, they found protection_.

_I ask how he controls his ice magic. Mikhail states the bulk of his magic relies heavily on emotion but gives a few suggestions to dampen them, like gloves. I question if it is possible for these methods to work on magic that one is born with. Mikhail says only cursed magic is possible. All beings have abilities inside them already, it is just those like the sorceress that have figured out how to use it. He then asks Iduna if anyone may have cursed her before Elsa was born. The thought scares us both and we end for the night._

 

Elsa sits frozen in the chair, the quiet study now filled with the loud pounding of her heart beat. Her thoughts are like a blizzard inside her head and she can't focus. The only thing that makes any sort of sense right now, is that she wasn't alone. She was never the only one, and her father knew that.

Elsa feels like crying. She also wants to yell at herself for never believing in this possibility. Yet, underneath her father's hope of finding a cure for his daughter was an answer she came here searching for. 

She had wanted to know how to defend her Kingdom. And here was a person who could tell her how.

 

 

 


	6. Change is Coming

Light fills the room from the open window, casting a warm yellow glow over a figure lying in bed.

Elsa's eyelids flutter open and she yawns, stretching her arms out from the stiff sleeping position. She rolls onto her side and gazes lazily out the window, catching glimpses of the blue sky through gaps in the sheer purple curtains that hang off her canopy bed.

Elsa watches the light fabric float back and forth from the summer breeze. She turns to lay on her back, sucking in a deep breath air. Memories of the night before wash over her.

She still can't believe it.

Just yesterday, she was told Arendelle would be facing a war. Her royal officials were running around fearfully, her people were oblivious, her sister was scared. Yet, Elsa didn't feel hopeless anymore.

A small laugh escapes her lips and she smirks at the thought. If anyone had told her that she would feel like this given Arendelle's current situation, she would have laughed in their face.

Elsa lets out a breath, glancing at her nightstand where a brown leather book rests.

It's a long shot, but if her father believed he would help her, this cursed prince then Elsa has to believe it too.

She rubs her eyes, pulling herself out of sleep.

Nothing had been made official yet.

Elsa had left her father's study the minute after she read about the curse. The first thing she did back inside her room was write a letter. It sits on her desk by the window, neatly tucked into an envelope. Of course, Elsa hadn't mailed it yet. She didn't know the address to send it too.

Her father had filled the rest of the journal with other pieces of advice on ice magic he had accumulated over the years. There was little mention of the cursed Prince afterwards, but according to her father, it was because he left Mavaria at the age of 16. Something about joining the voyages of the General and his troops. Writings about him became small as his family didn't have much to say, since he was rarely home.

And that was seven years ago. 

Her father hadn't written anything more since then, simply because he just wasn't there to do it. Not him, or her mother.

Elsa sits up in bed, a heavy fabric falling over her one shoulder. She studies it, still half asleep. She must have forgotten to take her cloak off before she collapsed tiredly in bed last night. The thought of the dusty room comes to mind.  _Oh well,_ she thinks.  _Too late now._

Elsa pulls herself out of bed. It was going to be a long day.

 

The walk to the dining room is quiet. Not many of the staff get up as early as Elsa does and she finds it comforting to have the castle mostly to herself. She pushes open the tall laminate doors to the dining hall, the smell of fresh bread and citrus filling her senses. 

Elsa looks around the dining room. A few kitchen staff are bringing out silverware and dishes, but the seats at the table are still empty. Neither Anna or Kristoff have gotten up yet.

The sight makes Elsa feel a bit empty inside, although it could have just been that she was hungry.

Last night, Anna and Kristoff had been comforting each other in Anna's bedroom. Elsa had been in a rush the rest of the night, but she was pretty sure she never heard him leave.

 "Excuse me, your majesty?"

Elsa turns towards the voice that addressed her, a petite woman with dark blonde hair.

"Yes?"

"The Princess wanted me to inform you, that she will not be attending breakfast this morning. She requested to have her meal delivered to her room and wishes that you do not feel disrespected by her decision." The woman curtsies and waits patiently for a cue.

Elsa feels a bit of hurt wash over her.

Anna had every right to keep to herself, her big day having to be cancelled. But, what bothered Elsa more was the fact that Anna couldn't tell her this herself. She had asked a staff member to do it for her even if the sister's rooms were right down the hall. It was just like the times before the coronation, when they hardly spoke.

 _This must've been what Anna felt like._ Elsa thinks. When Elsa was locked away in her room, ignoring the knocks of desperation on her door from Anna, never sharing a meal with her family, never speaking directly to her sister, in fear that she might hurt her...

Elsa swallows, allowing a long blink to dry her eyes. "Of course. Tell her...to take her time."

The woman nods and heads off to the kitchen.

Elsa sighs, looking over the large display of breakfast food on the dining room table. It doesn't matter if she eats alone this morning. She needs to meet with the royal officials soon, anyways.

* * *

 

Elsa sits patiently in the meeting hall waiting for the officials to make their entrance. She had arrived a bit early, not having anything to keep her occupied at breakfast. Elsa drums her fingers over the arm of her chair, the small noise echoing loudly in the quiet room. She glances at the clock on the wall.

_Eight o'clock. They should be here by now._

Elsa stretches her back against the stiff seat, trying to find a comfortable position. She sighs and holds out her hand in front of her. She snaps her fingers and watches the tiny ice crystals float around the palm of her hand in boredom.

Outside the door, Elsa can here muffled voices get closer to the meeting room. She pauses her playful magic and sits upright in her chair, facing the doorway to the room.

Augustoff opens the door, talking to the person behind him, not taking notice of Elsa's presence.

"I know, but how?." Augustoff turns towards Elsa and freezes, suddenly dropping into a bow. "Ah- your majesty!" He greets, startled.

The other officials behind him follow his example. Elsa nods at them.

"Good morning."

Augustoff stands and motions for the others to take a seat with him. Elsa notices that the officials appear a bit less scared then they did yesterday. The other two who had not been at the meeting, present as well. Their previous conversation hushes and the room becomes quiet again, as they settle down.

"Well, shall we get started?" Augustoff says, looking over at her. 

Elsa nods. The others around her hum in agreement, looking like they've all had a rough night as well.

Augustoff clears his throat. "Well, we all know the situation at hand by now. The Kingdom of the North has made it very clear to us that Arendelle will be their next target. Unfortunately, we don't know when this decision was made or how they plan on pulling it off, but we know that it is going to happen  _very_ soon."

He shakes his head and to Elsa's surprise asks "Anyone have any ideas?" 

Elsa knows a phrase like this is often unprofessional at meetings, but there really isn't any other way to put it. The only people capable of making any decisions in Arenedelle are the six sitting in this room.

She decides to keep quiet and listen to what the others have to say first.

Jenkings is the first to speak, his tone rich in melancholy. "I ran a few numbers last night and according to my notes, it will be impossible to defend Arendelle with our limited troops and supplies."

The room goes quiet and the other men start to murmur in shock. "What do you mean?" One asks.

"Let's face it, Arendelle has never had a large army. The Kingdom is too small to need that sort of protection." He counters.

"What about requesting help?" Someone interrupts.

Augustoff joins in with a loud sigh. "Everyone we ally with is hesitant to step in on The Kingdom of the North. They've already conquered two small inland kingdoms. The others know they won't have the power to fight back, so why test them if they aren't part of The North's plan to begin with?"

"Some allies they are." Jenkings huffs.

"And there is still the problem on who will command the troops." Augustoff says reading his notes.

Elsa perks up at the mention of the army General.

"Who shall we appoint to the army General?"

There's a debate as the men interrupt one another with their input. "Let's hand it over to the high rankers." "Augustoff, you should take charge." "No, no I can't do that on my own." "Well, I can't do it."

Elsa clears her throat, grabbing the men's attention.

"I...may have an idea."

Augustoff looks towards her and smiles tiredly. "Of course your majesty, what is it about?"

Elsa takes her time to look between all of the eyes on her. Some look interested, some look tired.

Elsa takes a deep breath.

"What about the Mavarian Prince?" She asks.

The room goes silent. Augustoff appears taken aback, a look of unfamiliarity on his face. Haakon appears startled by the name. One of the other men snicker beside her.

"Who? the Winter Prince?" He asks amusedly. The dark haired man beside him, nudges him in the arm. "Who?" He whispers, confused.

Elsa takes in the new information about the Prince. Was that a nickname perhaps? 

She narrows her eyebrows and looks between the officials. Augustoff looks about as confused as she does.

"Your majesty." Haakon directs her. "Pardon me but, where did you find that name?" He questions, peering at Elsa carefully.

A thought crosses her mind that maybe Haakon knows what her father was up to. He was old enough to have worked with him for many years in Arendelle, no doubt they probably shared many secrets. Maybe the trip to Mavaria was one of them?

Elsa purses her lips. "It was...given to me." She says, thinking of her father's journal. The information inside it was meant to be for her, wasn't it?

"Apparently the Prince is quite active in his military duties and he travels considerably. Someone like that should be able to ally with Arendelle without fear of their kingdom being attacked." Elsa states to the officials.

"That is not a good idea." The man who laughed earlier, speaks up.

"Why not? Have you heard something about him?" Elsa asks.

"Well yes. He's a reckless General that only got his title after the former commander was killed in action. His tactics are strange and some people even claim that they use _sorcery._ "

"That sounds like an opinion to me." Jenkings says, looking the man over.

"Does he not do a good job then?" Elsa pushes, trying to learn more about the Prince.

"Well, I don't know...I've only ever heard-"

"His troops have never lost a fight since his promotion, your majesty." Haakon interrupts. His dark eyes sparkle at her and he smiles warmly. "Trust me, I know."

The room is silent once again, each of the officials considering the decision. Elsa stares at Haakon, the look on his face was something she had missed from the meeting before, he was hopeful too. Elsa smiles to herself for making the right choice.

"Well then it's settled, we'll ask this Mavarian Prince for aid and in the meantime try to work matters out as a group." Augustoff states. 

The other men nod in agreement and thank Elsa for her help. Elsa feels a rush of warmth fill her insides and for the first time feels that she can get her people through this.

Augustoff rustles his papers again and reads through the rest of the agenda. "Ok, now on the matter of supplies. Jenkings calculated the weapon inventory this morning and-"

"Queen Elsa!"

Elsa jumps in her chair, her and the other officials around her turning to look at a guard that burst through the door.

"Your majesty!" He shouts, looking in her direction. "Please, come quick, in the docks, you need to see this!" He pants, a look of fear washing over his face.

Elsa stills, her hope vanishing and turning into a large stone sitting in her gut. She glances over the others, all eyes seem to be on her.

"Yes...let's go." She hesitates and looks over the room. "I'm sure the matter is important for all of us to see?"

The guard that rushed in nods eagerly and motions for the court to follow him outside. Elsa gets up and follows him out the door, Augustoff and the others by her side.

 

They make it to the docks in time to see one of Arendelle's ships anchored in the port. Elsa raises a hand to block her eyes from the sun as she reads over the name along it's front.It was definitely one of the ships that left earlier for this week's ice trade. But, what was it doing back so soon?

Elsa moves closer to the massive boat and a sailor beckons for her to come aboard. She takes a nervous glance around her, onlookers from the village watching in concern and the officials glancing between each other confused.

The sailor helps her up the long ramp and she steadies herself once on the dock of the ship.

"Your majesty." He starts, a look of worry in his eyes. "The ship never made it to it's trading post. We were stopped about halfway there and these people sent us back with a message." He guides her over to a hole in the ships deck, pointing down into the cabin where Arendelle's traded goods should be stored. "They, they destroyed everything..." He says trailing off in concern.

Elsa's eyes widen in horror as she peers down into the ships cabin. The solid blocks of crystal ice, which should be stacked neatly into rows for trade, is now smashed and broken into thousands of pieces below deck, water slowly melting off of them and flooding the room. 

The action may seem insignificant to others, but Elsa can clearly see what it's meant to be.

It's a warning.

And it was directed towards her.

"Your majesty." 

Elsa looks away from the horrendous sight and over at Jenkings who now stands beside her. He peers into the ships cabin, not looking away from the scene while he speaks, eyes wide in terror.

"I suggest you send that letter." He says quietly.

 

 

 


	7. ??????

In the midst of the Eastern Plains a lone rider and his horse fly across the open lands, the cloak over the rider’s shoulders flapping noisily behind them. As they pass by, the long grass around them whips back violently, catching the wind from their urgent stride. 

They’re keeping up a good pace but the setting sun above them tells the rider that they don’t have much daytime left on their journey. He pulls the reins of the bridle harder, pushing his horse to go even faster. The steed receives the signal and obeys, its hooves pounding down against the rough dirt and quickly gaining speed.  

The force from the quick gallop causes the air to sting the rider’s face but he holds the pace steady. He squints through the ride-wind and setting sun, instead focusing his gaze in front of him, eyes set with determination. 

Up ahead, an opening to a forest appears, looking dark and gloomy compared to the bright green grass around them. The rider frowns, setting his unease aside and focusing on the dark opening between the trees. 

His horse senses what’s about to happen next and lowers its head, ready to break into the thick brush. 

The rider can feel the jolt from each of his horse’s hooves as they hit the ground, almost like a clock counting down the seconds until they reach the gap. 

He ducts his head lower as well, bracing himself for the impact into the brush. 

They pass through the opening with a crash, small branches swiping against the rider’s body and cutting the fabric of his shirt. He ignores the act and focuses instead on staying on the overgrown path in the wood, the forest slowly beginning to reclaim its ground. 

The two dive deeper into the forest, the atmosphere becoming gloomier by the second as the sunlight fades behind the high tree tops. Dusk is settling in.  

The rider lets his horse take most of the control, it being able to find its way through the thick wood on its own. 

Suddenly a bit worried, he takes one hand off the reins and uses it to feel for the envelope tucked loosely inside his jacket pocket. His fingers touch the smooth surface of a piece of paper and he lets out a sigh of relief. It wouldn’t be good to lose that. 

His horse ducks under a low tree branch and swerves to the right, allowing itself to guide the rider carefully through the forest. The rider narrows his brows and looks around at the trees surrounding them. The farther they venture inside, the more the area begins to look the same. 

He frowns and tries to look for something that marks the forests’ path. 

Suddenly, the horse's ears twitch and fall flat against his head. The rider senses his horse’s unease and can’t help but feel his own heart beat quicken as well. 

They slow down their pace to a quick trot as the rider glances around the forest. All he needs to do is find the path again, it can’t be that difficult. He urges himself and his horse to stay focused, giving the steed a few calming pats on the neck as they trot. 

Shadows from the trees around them catch the corner of his eye, causing him to do a double take every few seconds. He grips the reins nervously and tries to stay focused on not getting lost.  

A speck of dark blue catches the rider’s eye and he slows down the horse’s pace again. Up ahead, what looks to be a piece of dark blue fabric, is tied tightly onto a low branch of a tree. He narrows his brows at the odd sight as they trot closer to the tree. Could this be a marker? 

"Halt!"  

A voice shouts and a figure abruptly jumps out from behind the tree, blocking the rider’s path. 

The horse screeches to a halt, digging its front hooves into the dirt with a loud cry. Up above them, birds take off from the tree tops, startled. The rider frantically pulls back the reins as the horse lifts its front hooves up off the ground in fright. He manages to steady himself from falling off and drops the steed back on all fours.  

The horse breathes out heavily through its nose and the riders’ own breathes become matched once he sees the scene in front of him. 

He stares down the front end of a loaded crossbow, pointed at his chest. The man who jumped out from behind the tree holds it steady, his sight never wavering off the target. 

The rider lifts a hand up in defense as he attempts to steady his breathing. He bravely meets the eyes of what appeared to be a soldier and clears his throat. 

"I came to bring a message." He stutters. 

When the other man makes no attempt to unload his weapon, the rider reaches into his jacket pocket and pulls out the envelope slowly. He takes one last look at the cover and then holds it out to the other man. 

The soldier squints at him and then down to the envelope. He doesn’t move. 

The rider swallows the lump in his throat, looking the man square in the eyes.  

“For your Captain.” He says more firmly. 

Recognition passes the soldier’s gaze and he slowly lowers the bow to take the envelope from the rider. Once the exchange is made, the rider returns a nod and spins his horse around to face the forest again, clicking the reins. He didn’t want to be in that creepy forest any longer than he needed. 

And then they're gone, back the way they came. 

The soldier looks down at the envelope in his hand and confirms that the cursive writing across the front was indeed meant for his Captain. He tucks it securely inside his jacket and then takes the time to unload his crossbow. The arrow is dropped into the leather pouch along his waist and he swings the bow over his shoulder to click onto the holder on his back.  

He takes one last look around at his surroundings. The blue cloth on the tree catches his eye briefly and then he heads north, traveling deeper into the gloomy forest. 

 

The soldier walks cautiously for what seems like fifteen minutes before coming to a gradual hill inside the wood. He hikes upwards, careful not to stumble on any loose rocks. 

When he reaches the peak, the tops of dark blue and green tents begin to pop into view. The soldier pauses, checking behind him one last time before making his way into the camp. 

 

He takes his time walking through the setup, weaving in and out of the dark tents and his fellow troops. The others rush around him leisurely. Some enter the large dark green tent to his left, the sound of clinking glasses and laughter erupting from inside as he passes. He ignores the busy scenes around him and focuses on his destination instead. 

He passes a post holding a few of the army’s horses and a man calls out to him. When the soldier looks over, he holds up a drink in his hand and smiles humorously. The soldier shakes his head and physically waves his friend off, receiving laughs from others around them. 

Making his way deeper inside the camp, he passes a few of his bunk members huddled around together in a circle. They shout in excitement, making fists in the air and yelling encouragements. The soldier walks a bit closer in curiosity and confirms the scene for himself. Two other men stand in the circles' center, swords raised and pointed at each other in challenge. They fight and one falls, rolling out of the way just in time before the other man's sword hits the dirt by his head. The shouts around the circle get louder at the spectacle. No doubt the others had placed bets on the “friendly” competition. 

He turns away from the loud cheers and approaches the large dark blue tent at this end of the camp. The tall gloomy doorway to the tent stands over him and he pauses for a second before pushing the flap aside and walking in. 

The noise from outside gets muffled behind the heavy curtains and the soldier takes a look around at the dim surroundings. He blinks a few times to adjust his eyes to the lighting and takes in the room. Carefully, he makes his way through the room, swerving around the various pieces of furniture placed inside. He stops at the far end of the tent in front of an adjoining room, its curtains heavily draped shut in privacy. Then he clears his throat. 

"Permission to enter." He asks. 

The space around him remains quiet, the only other noise coming from the muffled chatter outside.  

"Granted." A voice calls from inside the room. 

The soldier pushes aside the curtains and enters. He stands firmly on the other side of the doorway and looks around for the other person that is inside. The tent is dimly lit in the adjoined room as well, with nothing but a lantern on the desk for light.  

He spots the Captain sitting at his desk casually, leaning back in his chair with his feet propped up on the desk. He diverts his attention from whatever he had just been doing and angles his face up to look at the soldier. The lantern on the desk casts a dim yellow glow over his figure but the hood pulled up over his head keeps his face in the shadows. 

The soldier straightens himself out and gives a slight bow in his superior’s direction. 

"A message came today, from a rider near the city." He states, bringing the white envelope out of his jacket pocket. 

The Captain is quiet for a moment, his concealed face hiding his reaction from the soldier. The soldier shifts in place between the silence wondering if he should hand it over. 

The Captain nods and then holds out his hand. Briskly, the soldier steps over to the desk and plants the envelope firmly in his grasp. He stands patiently by the desk and waits for the Captain to say something. 

His superior looks it over slowly, carefully, turning the envelope around in his hands. Then, notices that the cover is blank except for the black curved handwriting that spells out his name. 

"Did they say who it was from?" He asks quietly. 

The soldier shakes his head. "No, sir." 

The Captain hums, flipping the envelope over again and examining that there were indeed no other markings on its cover. The soldier looks around the room again before sensing that he will not be questioned further. He nods a salute then turns to take his leave. 

The room is quiet yet again and the Captain sits unmoving in his chair, pondering the unmarked letter. He removes his feet from the desktop and reaches down to grab the small knife hanging off his belt. He cuts open the envelope's seal then tosses the knife aside on the desktop. 

Unfolding the letter inside, he pauses briefly trying to imagine who the mystery sender might be. His eyes move across the paper slowly, the name of the Kingdom and its ruler written along the top. 

He narrows his brows, the name of the kingdom ringing a bell but the name under it a bit fuzzy in his memory. The seconds tick by on the clock at the other end of the room. Then it hits him. 

The Captain remains still at the desk, eyes scanning the words laid out on paper before him. He taps his fingers on the armrest of his chair while concentrating on the new information. 

He reads it over a few times then lays the open letter out in front of him, reclining back in his chair and staring at it from a distance. 

_The Kingdom of Arendelle, huh?_  

He thinks over the idea of taking sides in a war that did not involve him. But something inside him flickers like a light, as if already knowing the answer. 

He lets the idea rest inside his head for a few minutes before a small grin crosses his lips. A short laugh escapes and he stands, swiping the letter off the desk and making his way out of the room.  

As he makes his way to the front of the tent, he reaches up to pull off the hood from his cloak. He grips the flap over the doorway and brushes it open, moonlight shining down on him and catching light on his silver hair. 

He watches the energy around him dwindle as a few of the soldiers take notice and stop. The Captain clears his throat and addresses the crowd. 

"I need all hands ready!" He shouts firmly. 

The activities quiet down and more soldiers turn to face him, a few coming out of the nearby tents as well.  

He looks them over and crosses his arms in front of him. 

“We have a new job to do, it’s time to head out.”  

And with that, he turns to head back inside the dark blue tent as his troops around the camp begin frantically getting to work. 


	8. Chapter 8

“Queen Elsa, where would you like this?” 

Elsa turns abruptly from her work and looks over to a guard carrying a heavy wooden box. She excuses herself to the staff she had been talking with and heads over his way. 

The guard holds the wooden box out to her and Elsa lifts up the cover, taking a look at what’s inside. She finds a wide array of flint tools, powder boxes, and a few other small weaponry supplies that are arranged neatly in order. Elsa closes the lid and glances down at the clipboard in her hands. 

“The watch towers at the back of the castle still need to be stocked.” Elsa notes, shuffling through her papers and various supply check lists. The guard nods his head and starts to make his way towards the back of the castle. 

“Make sure to bring back anything extra.” She calls out to the guards’ retreating figure. He shouts out an “okay” towards her and continues walking. 

Elsa lets out a breath of air and runs a hand through her braided hair. She pauses for a minute and reflects on the chaotic scene around her. 

Ever since the incident at the docks, a majority of the castle guards and staff had been helping to prepare Arendelle for its coming threat. They walk hurriedly around the courtyard, some heading over to help stock the towers along the castle walls and some taking carts out through the gates to other locations around the kingdom. At the center of the courtyard, other workers are sorting through a large pile of weaponry and supplies, taking count of Arendelle’s inventory and other useful resources. 

Elsa sighs and flips over a page on her clipboard. The situation she found herself in wasn’t ideal. The warning from The Kingdom of the North had left her feeling worried and anxious, the past few nights spent lying awake and pondering the what ifs of the situation. What if The North had decided to attack Arendelle instead of the ship? They wouldn’t have been prepared at all, making out for an easy defeat. So why didn't they? Elsa shivers at the thought, not wanting to imagine that sort of possibility. 

Elsa shakes the thoughts from her head and begins to walk amongst some of the other staff in the courtyard, surveying the supplies that had been scattered throughout. She picks out a few boxes of supplies to search through and continues to add to the tally sheet on her clipboard.  

Jenkings had specified that the amount of defense supplies and weaponry wouldn’t be enough to stop the Northern army. They were at a disadvantage, but nonetheless Elsa needed to confirm for herself just how short the supply was, so they could manage what they had effectively. 

She continues sorting through the boxes, completely focused on her work until a familiar voice calls out and grabs her attention. 

“Need anything to be taken out the castle gates?” Kristoff asks some staff behind her. 

Elsa freezes, listening to the conversation happening behind her. As weird as it was, Elsa still felt awkward whenever she was around Kristoff. Mostly because he talked to Anna on a regular basis, and Elsa hadn’t spoken to her sister since a few days ago. She wanted to give her space, time to think about what was happening. But, when Anna seemed to keep her distance from the whole situation, including Elsa herself, it hurt. 

The memory of her night with Anna hits Elsa hard and she grimaces. 

Kristoff looks over from his work and notices her saddening expression. He catches her eyes and gives her a small smile.  

“This box need to head out as well?” He asks pointing to the box by Elsa’s feet. 

“Oh, yes.” Elsa says, looking away from his gaze and stepping off to the side. 

“Hey just think, after today all this hard work will be done.” Kristoff says bending over to pick up the box. He gives Elsa a reassuring smile and heads over to the back of Sven’s cart.  

She walks after Kristoff quietly, following him to Sven’s cart. She glances between the loaded boxes and the checklist in her hands, wanting to do one last check that everything was in order. 

“Hey Elsa!”  

Elsa jumps in surprise as Olaf pops up from the front seat of the cart. She puts a hand against her chest to calm down the heart attack he nearly gave her. 

“Oh, Olaf.” She manages to say between breathes 

“Hey can I ask you a question?” He asks, oblivious to the fright he gave Elsa. Elsa nods her head and Olaf looks around at the others suspiciously before leaning forwards with a hand to the side of his mouth. 

“Are we having a surprise party or something?” He whispers, raising one of his eyebrows at her. 

Elsa widens her eyes at the idea, glancing around at their surroundings. The bustling activity as both the staff and guards move defense supplies around the castle grounds doesn’t ring “party” to her. Elsa looks back over at Olaf and shakes her head. 

“No. What makes you think that? She asks him. 

Olaf hums and taps a finger on his chin in thought. 

“Well, everyone’s been so busy lately and whenever I ask about it, no one answers me.” Olaf shrugs, looking a bit saddened that he had been ignored. 

Elsa diverts her gaze to think of an answer for the small snowman. She watches Kristoff load the rest of the boxes into the cart and he shakes his head at her, as if silently saying “don’t tell him.” Elsa sighs half-heartedly. He would find out eventually, everyone would. 

“Don’t worry Olaf. I’m going to tell everyone tomorrow.” Elsa says lightly. She had planned to give a speech the next morning and warn the people of Arendelle about the coming war. She was still nervous about how everyone would react to the news but they at least had to know. 

“Really? But it’s not a party?” He asks looking a bit disappointed. 

“No, it’s nothing fun...but it’s important.” Elsa states. 

Olaf slumps in the front seat of the cart and takes another look around at the castle grounds. His hands tap together in thought and slowly he begins to nod his head, as if understanding. 

“I get it. It’s a queen thing, huh?” 

Elsa cocks her head at his unique choice of words. “Yes, I guess you could say that.” 

Kristoff makes his way around her and steps up to take a seat beside Olaf on the cart. 

“Well, I’ll be back in about an hour. Call me if you need anything else.” He states taking hold of Sven’s reins and shaking them out. 

Elsa nods and backs away from the cart to give him room. Olaf gives her a wave as they begin to head out and Elsa smiles, giving him a wave back. She watches them leave through the front gate and then  frowns, turning with a tired sigh.  

One of the workers give her a worried look. 

“Your Majesty, you’ve been working hard with us all morning. Maybe you should go and get some rest.” 

Elsa starts to decline the offer but the others around her nod their heads in agreement. Elsa frowns slightly, but they encourage her to go by mentioning how she’ll need to be well rested for her speech tomorrow morning. 

“Alright, well, let me know if you need anything.” She says, handing her clipboard over to one of them. They praise her for her hard work and wave as she heads off to go back inside the castle. 

 

* * *

 

Elsa writes down the last few lines of her speech in her notebook. She pauses to let out a small yawn and rubs her eyes. 

After helping out with the castle defenses this morning and then working on her speech for the rest of the night, Elsa was finally starting to feel the exhaustion setting in. And all of this, was only just the beginning. The thought makes her uncomfortable and she shifts nervously in her chair. She wasn’t sure how much more of this she could physically and mentally take. 

Elsa puts her pencil back in the drawer of her desk and reads through the pages of her notebook one last time. She still hadn’t finished memorizing it yet, maybe another hour of work wouldn’t hurt? 

Elsa contemplates whether or not she should call it a day, when a knock at the door grabs her attention. She stills in her chair, looking up at the blue and white pattern of her bedroom door. Elsa narrows her brows and tries to imagine why someone would be knocking on her door at this hour of the night. 

“Who is it?” She responds, wondering if she had simply imagined the knock. 

The door creaks open slightly and a small voice calls out to her. 

“Hey Elsa, you there?” Anna asks into the quiet room. 

“Anna...” Elsa’s eyes widen in surprise and she drops the papers in her hand. She shakes her a head, wondering if her mind was playing tricks on her. A million questions run through her mind to why her sister was still up, this late. Was she alright? Did something happen? 

“I uh, I was wondering if we could talk, if you’re up for that right now.” Anna says quietly, glancing over at Elsa’s papers on the desk. 

Elsa nods her head, a little confused, and tries to calm her nerves. She motions for Anna to come inside. “Of course.” 

Anna gives her a half smile and walks into the room, making sure the door is shut behind her. She walks over to stand by Elsa and takes a deep breath. 

“Elsa, I’ve been thinking a lot about this... and I want to help.” Anna starts, staring into Elsa’s eyes. 

The phrase catches Elsa off guard and she’s taken back in shock. “What.” She whispers. 

“Look I know I haven't been around that much recently and I’m sorry. I was just having a tough time coping with all of this that I forgot where that left you.” Anna says truthfully, a genuine look of concern, showing in her eyes. 

Elsa feels her eyes begin to water and tries to blink the feeling away. “Anna, it’s ok, I’ve managed-” 

You’ve managed?” Anna cuts her off. “Elsa, look at yourself, you look exhausted.” She puts a hand on her shoulder in comfort, giving her sister a worried look. 

Elsa looks away not wanting her sister to know how weak and tired really she felt. But it doesn’t last, the emotions she’d been holding back the last few days bubble up inside her. She closes her eyes and shakes her head. “Anna, I’m sorry.” She whispers, looking up to meet Anna’s gaze. 

Anna’s teal eyes sadden and she shakes her head. “Oh, Elsa.” She whispers, reaching out and pulling her sister into an embrace. Elsa hugs back, having missed her sister the last few days. 

“Let’s do this together, what do you say?” Anna asks, pulling away from the hug. 

Elsa nods, a smile appearing on her face. Anna smiles and they hug again, a warm comforting feeling surrounding the two of them. Elsa feels a sense of relief rush through her, her sister’s sincerity washing away the worry and doubt that had built up inside. 

 

They end up sitting on the bed and start up a small conversation about what Elsa had been doing around the castle earlier this week. Anna says that she had talked to Kristoff about most of it and agrees to help Elsa learn her speech, as all of the outside work is finishing up. Elsa is just thankful to have her by her side. 

“Actually, there’s something else I need to tell you.” Elsa starts. 

Anna nods with her full attention. “Ok, shoot.” 

“Well, after I told you about the war, I decided to go digging around in the library. I wanted to find something that could help us. Something that could help Arendelle.” Elsa says softly. 

Anna nods her head and Elsa rises from the bed, going to fetch the small leather journal from her nightstand. She walks back over to where Anna sits and holds it out for her to see. 

“I found this.” Elsa states showing her the cover. Anna’s teal eyes fill with curiosity and she takes the book from Elsa, looking at the cover. 

“Mavaria?” She questions, reading the title and scrunching up her nose. Elsa nods and Anna opens up the journal to the front page, watching as the letter inside falls out onto her lap. 

“Elsa what is this? Is this-” Anna’s eyes lock onto the now exposed front page, seeing the cursive print of King Agnarr scrolled across the page. 

“Was this fathers’?” She asks in a small hush, brushing her fingers over the worn yellow page. 

Elsa watches her sister take it in, the same way she had back in her father’s study. She wanted to tell Anna so badly, how she had gone to their father’s study, how it wasn’t locked up for forever. But she didn’t. It was better if Anna didn’t know. It might make her sister unhappy again if she knew what Elsa had been hiding from her all these years. 

“Anna, he knew someone like me.” Elsa says proudly, feeling a sense of warmth rising up in her chest. Anna looks up in shock. 

“What! You mean with powers?!” Anna yells, her voice bouncing off the walls of Elsa’s bedroom. 

Elsa shushes her and looks around, listening to see if anyone passing by had heard them. Anna shuts her mouth quickly and gestures back to the journal. 

“You mean with ice magic?” Anna says more quietly. Elsa nods her head and opens up the fallen letter, motioning for Anna to take it and read. Elsa bites her fingernail as she watches the expression on Anna’s face change while reading the letter. Her eyes go wide and she looks up with her mouth wide open. 

“Keep reading.” Elsa says pointing to the first page of the journal and sitting back down beside her sister so she can reread the passage with her. Anna reads the story, saying things like “wow” or “oh my god” and gasping in amazement at certain parts. Elsa watches her reactions, feeling giddy inside. It felt great to have someone else know about the journal. 

When they finish Anna collapses back on the bed, her hands up against her temples. 

“I can’t believe this.” She murmurs in amazement. 

“I know right!” Elsa shoots back, unable to hold back her own excitement. 

“And he could totally help us!” Anna shouts at her. 

“Oh, I’ve already sent him a letter, did I mention that earlier?” Elsa asks, trying to remember. 

Anna sits up and gapes her mouth open at her. “Hold on, this is too much.” She says putting up a hand. Anna stands up from the bed and starts walking to the door. 

“Where are you going?” Elsa asks, feeling suddenly confused. 

“To get my stuff, I have a feeling I’m gonna be here all night.” Anna drawls out, giving her sister a wink and turning down the hall. 

Elsa smiles, letting out a small laugh.  

It was good to have things feel like normal again. 


	9. Chapter 9

Elsa paces across her room again, lost in concentration. She focuses on nothing in particular, almost zoning out as she mumbles through another recitation of her speech. 

The time had officially come to let the people of Arendelle know what was coming. She was sure many already had their suspicions but she wanted the kingdom to be well defensed before stating that they were under attack. 

Elsa reaches the end of her room, coming to stand in front of her vanity. She pauses her recitation and peers at her nervous reflection in the mirror. It makes her cringe and she lets out a sigh before turning around and walking back to the other side of her bedroom. 

Anna sits on the edge of her bed, watching her sister pace back and forth across the room like a trapped animal. There wasn’t much she could do with helping Elsa practice her speech, but she could still be there for her when she finally announced it. 

Elsa wrings her hands together nervously as she goes through the oration one more time. It had to be perfect. They had to know how she felt. 

Elsa hears Anna sigh from her spot on the bed but she doesn’t look over. Instead, she stops pacing and stands looking out her bedroom window. It was just about midday and the sun should have been out, high above the sky. Instead, it seems to have gotten stuck behind a few large clouds, making the view outside appear cool and calm. 

But the view didn’t do anything to calm the jittery feeling sitting inside her stomach. She had practiced her speech the whole night before and for the rest of this morning, but it did nothing to imagine what kind of reaction the people of Arendelle would have. She wanted them to support her, to know that she was going to do everything in her power to protect them. But what if they turned on her? What if she failed and they would end up facing a life of misery under the rule of the North? 

Elsa could never forgive herself. She shakes the dark thoughts from her mind and closes her eyes to calm down. Just a few more recitations and she would feel a little bit better. Elsa turns around to pace back towards the other side of the room but runs into Anna instead. She lets out a gasp as they bump into each other and holds a hand up to her chest. 

“Anna, you scared me.” She says with a startled chuckle. 

Anna gives her a worried look and reaches out to hold her by the shoulders. 

“Elsa, you need to relax. Please?” Anna’s eyebrows are drawn down and her teal eyes are filled with concern. 

Elsa lets go of a heavy breath and her shoulders slump. She had definitely been overworking herself lately. She hated over thinking everything but she couldn’t help it. 

“Right, of course. I shouldn’t be worrying about this.” She takes a calming breath and pushes the doubts away from her mind. 

Anna gives her a small encouraging smile and Elsa returns it, thankful to have her sister back by her side. Anna releases her hold on Elsa’s shoulders and instead reaches down to take her hand. 

“Come on. Let’s sit down for a bit. You don’t want to get all sweaty before your big speech, do you?”  

Elsa rolls her eyes at her sister’s joke. She hadn’t been pacing her room for that long...had she? Anna smiles and guides Elsa over to the foot of her bed. 

“Sit.” She says, patting a spot next to her on the comfy blanket. 

Elsa sits down and they relax for a while in the quiet of her room. The balcony windows are cracked open and a cool summer breeze blows around inside. Elsa edges herself to relax further and quiets the uneasy feeling rising up in her chest. The speech she was about to give was strictly serious. Everything needed to go perfectly or the whole kingdom could erupt into chaos. 

“I’m sure it’s going to go well.” Anna says, breaking the short silence. 

“Yes, I hope so.” Elsa replies quietly. 

Anna nods and reaches out to fix the small capelet covering Elsa’s sholders. 

“Oh, thank you.” Elsa looks down and helps smooth out the creases on her dark blue dress and matching capelet. Maybe she had been pacing around her room for longer than she had originally thought. Elsa also looks across her room at the vanity mirror, checking to make sure her platinum braid had stayed neatly together. 

Anna eventually looks down to fix her own skirt, which sported a dark green color. Both sisters had made sure they dressed reasonably for the speech, wanting to make a good impression on their people. 

They sit together in the quiet of Elsa’s bedroom for a little longer, taking in the last moment they’ll have before everything changes. Before Elsa has to let everyone know the truth.  

They make small talk, mostly comments about how things were going to go well. 

The blue and white door to her room creaks open and the noise grabs both of their attentions. 

“Your Majesty.” A woman appears and gives a curtsey in the doorway. She looks at the two of them, her face not showing any clear expression. 

Elsa straightens her back and glances at Anna. 

“It’s time.” She whispers. 

Anna nods and reaches down to give her sister’s hand a comforting squeeze. 

 

Side by side they walk down the long hallway from Elsa’s bedroom, in silence. Elsa keeps her head held high finally feeling the weight of a queen’s responsibility on her shoulders. After this, she’ll fully understand what it means to bear the title. 

Anna is quiet beside her but keeps their hands locked together for comfort. Elsa’s nerves are at ease knowing that she finally has her strong-willed sister back by her side. She leans to the side slightly and whispers to Anna a quiet “thank you.” 

Anna looks up, surprised by her words and smiles. 

Elsa looks straight ahead and sees that they have made it to the large balcony at the front of the castle, the tall glass doors shut tight until she gives the cue. 

“Ah! Your Majesty!” Augustoff whisper shouts from the side of the hall. He bows and walks hastily over to stand beside her. The other royal officials stand against the wall of the hallway, all dressed in their best uniforms for the serious occasion. 

“You look lovely as always.” He addresses to Elsa. “As well as you, Your Highness.” He says leaning around Elsa to nod at Anna. 

They both thank him. 

“Is everyone here?” Elsa asks quietly to Augustoff, looking around at the others surrounding them. A few of the castle staff have joined their small group, wanting to give their support to Elsa as she gives her speech. 

“Yes, just about.” He replies nervously, reaching down to pull at the cuffs of his uniform coat. 

Elsa nods and takes one last cool breath through her nose. She glances at Anna, who gives her an encouraging smile, then looks over to the staff standing beside the balcony doors. 

“Alright, I’m ready.” 

They open the glass doors simultaneously, allowing Elsa her first view of the balcony and beyond. Anna unlocks their hands and Elsa slowly begins walking towards the balcony. Anna watches for a few seconds before following out a few steps behind her. 

Noisy chatter can be heard from down below as Elsa reaches out and grabs hold of the cold stone railing in front of her. She stands still, looking out over the castle grounds and the crowd of people waiting patiently on its stone cobble.  

A sudden hush comes over them as Elsa comes into view and they all turn to face her direction upon the balcony. The sight was somewhat breath taking to Elsa. All of Arendelle’s people were standing together inside the castle walls. 

 _It must be everyone from the village._  Elsa thinks to herself, scanning the crowd. 

She takes a look over her shoulder as the royal officials line themselves up against the back of the balcony wall. Anna stands at her side as well, but just a bit further back to give Elsa room to speak directly to their people. 

Elsa turns and sets her gaze back over to the crowd. They stand still, staring up at her in anticipation. No one speaks. 

 _Here goes nothing._ Elsa clears her throat. 

“The People of Arendelle.” Elsa calls out over the balcony. Her voice is loud and unwavering, echoing out over the silent crowd. 

“I’m sure you are all wondering why I have called you out here today. Actually, I’m sure many of you already have an idea of what I’m going to discuss.” 

She pauses as a cool breeze rolls by, carrying the soft murmurs of the villagers up to where she stands. Elsa takes another breath. She needed to stay calm. 

“You may have noticed, the strange behaviors happening in our kingdom these last few days. I do not deny that anything has been going on. But, I am only sorry for keeping you all in the dark.” 

“We are working hard to ensure your protection, to make sure everyone in Arendelle is safe, as there comes a threat from the north. The Kingdom of the North wants us to be under their rule. They have declared a war against us...” 

Elsa holds her breath and waits for the information to sink in. She scans the crowd and watches as the faces looking up at her become wide eyed and worried. They whisper amongst each other in shock, parents holding their children close as some begin to break into tears... as some begin to break into _fear._  

Elsa swallows and attempts to cut into the chatter again. 

“...but their threats do not scare me! I will not let them conquer our kingdom!” Elsa shouts over the crowd and they hush down again. She pauses and then starts again, in a quieter tone. 

“I have taken time these last few days to strengthen our defenses and ensure Arendelle’s protection. You have my word that I will stand and fight for our home. So, if you care about Arendelle as much as I do, please, stay and help me fight back.”   

Elsa stops and feels a rush of sadness wash over her. She hoped that she didn’t need to ask permission for the others to stay and help fight. This was their home as well, they all loved Arendelle. Elsa purses her lips and looks over the fearful people below her. 

“Know that you do not have to stay.” She speaks to them. “Do what you must to protect your family, but know that I- that we-” 

Elsa turns to look over at her sister and Anna steps up next to her side. Anna gives her a firm nod and they take each other's hands.  

“-that we are here to protect you as well.” Elsa finishes, looking out over the large crowd. 

The people below the balcony stir. Altogether, it seems as though they don’t know how to react. Some begin to flee the castle gates or search around for family and friends. Their murmurs start to get louder and some attempt to yell up questions to the balcony. 

Elsa can see that some people have broken down and started crying, the sight shattering her heart. It was the reaction she didn’t want but knew she was going to get. Anna grabs her attention by giving her hand a slight squeeze. 

“It’ll be ok.” She whispers. 

Elsa can only nod. 

One of the castle staff taps her on the shoulder and indicates that it was time to head back inside. It was pointless to try and talk to the villagers from shouting above the balcony. If anyone had questions or needed comforting, Elsa would meet with them in the throne room.  

“Please let us know if you need anything.” Anna shouts out to the crowd. 

Together they turn and head back through the glass doors to the hallway. 

 

A feeling of relief washes over Elsa now that she finally told her people the truth. She can only hope now, that they put faith in her abilities to protect Arendelle. She shares a look of relief with Anna once the doors are finally shut tight. 

“Well done, Your Majesty.” Augustoff compliments beside them. 

“Agreed, well done.” Jenkings joins in. 

The group of them stand together in the hallway, discussing when it would be proper to start heading down to the throne room. It would take some time for the castle guards to gather together anyone with questions. 

Suddenly, a commotion around the corner of the hall catches everyone’s attention. A castle guard emerges in a panic and locks eyes with Elsa. 

“Queen Elsa!” He shouts. He comes to stand in front of them, placing a hand on his side and panting, obviously out of breath. 

Elsa narrows her brows in concern. “What is it?” 

The first thought in her mind is the possibility of an invasion. She feels her heartbeat quicken. There was no way her people could get ready in time. None of the guards were at their stations and all of the villagers were out in the open, inside the castle walls. She begins to stutter but the guard cuts her off with a single sentence. 

“Prince Jokul’s army has been spotted at Arendelle’s southern border.” 

Elsa freezes, any words she had wanted to say getting stuck inside her throat.  _What?!_  How could that be possible? It had only been a week since she sent her letter. 

She looks over at Anna who shares a similar expression, something between shock and excitement is hidden in her eyes.  

Suddenly, everyone in the hall begins to panic. 

“Everyone downstairs, now!” Augustoff yells, shooing the other officials down the hall and towards the staircase. 

Elsa and Anna follow the group. She can feel a wave of emotions run through her and her hands begin to shake with anticipation. In a few minutes, she could be one step closer to protecting Arendelle and one step closer to someone like her.

He had come to help.

“I can't believe it.” Anna says beside her, saying what Elsa couldn’t. 


End file.
